Parent Trap
by Scarlet182
Summary: You hate them. You love them. You annoy them. They annoy you. Sometimes, you just don't get along. Whoever said being the kid was easy? *Story Complete*
1. This is just the beginning

ThisIsJusttheBeginning __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Well, this is NOEbY # 4. Originally, this story was supposed to be two, but I decided to put them together to make a more interesting plot. Before you read this, I would suggest reading the previous story: "A Date to Remember" if you haven't yet. OK, now I'm done, so you can start…

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Parent Trap

This is just the beginning

Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…The alarm goes off, accompanied but a wave of whines and groans. It was only a few more seconds before their shift will end.

"Less than a minute left," Jamie cried out in aggravation before heading towards the ambulance. "Whoever said 'saved by the bell' couldn't have been more wrong."

After Jamie got in the ambulance, the squad drove off. Tyler and Hank were the only others present.

"Injured adult male," informed Hank. "3427 Dried Earth Boulevard. Possible third degree burns."

"Let's get to it!" cried out Tyler as they headed for the location.

When the squad got there, they hurried for the door as fast as they could. A few doorbell rings later, a large man in a military uniform appeared.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Halloween's over young men. And aren't you too old for trick-or-treating?"

"No one's ever too old for trick-or-treating!" yelled Jamie as he got an elbow from Tyler. 

"We are Emergency Medical Technicians," stated Hank. "We got a call to come to this place. It was reported that someone was injured."

"We never made such calls," he said.

"Well **sir**, we **did** get a call. Are there any people in the house who **might** have called without **your** knowledge about it?"

"If anyone was injured at my house, I think I would know. You have a serious attitude problem, young man."

"I was just taking my job seriously…"

"If you'll excuse me, I have some more important business to attend."

"Excuse me, sir…" called out Hank but was only met by the slam of the door.

"That was odd," Tyler said. "I feel sorry for his kids."

"That man was rude," Jamie said.

"Tell me about it," added Hank. "But who made the call anyway?"

As they returned to their ambulance, they heard a bunch of giggles from behind the bushes. The trio came over to investigate, and apparently, two boys were found.

"Aren't you two Brooke's friends?" asked Hank.

"Mark and Geoff, right?" said Tyler.

"Did you two little brats make that fake call?" asked an angered Jamie. "And you better tell me the truth or else?"

"No/Yes," Mark and Geoff said respectively. "Yes/No."

"That clears things up now," said Jamie as he approached them.

"Run Geoff!" cried Mark who was already 20 yards away from them. "Run!"

"I'm coming!" Geoff yelled out as he ran in record time.

"I'm going to get you two!" called out Jamie as he laughed. "Man, we've been _hoodwinked_."

"Hoodwinked?" asked Tyler as he raised one eyebrow.

"I have to stop reading those vocabulary books," Jamie said. "It's all my _obtuse_ English teacher's _blunder_."

"You better stop for your own good before you turn into Webster," Hank said with a laugh. "Come on. Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The halls in Kingsport High was one again filled with the ever-familiar faces of student and faculty. First period had just ended and followed abruptly by the next one. Val and Caitie stopped at their lockers for a while.

"So I take it that you and Jamie are doing well?" asked Val as she entered her locker combination. "You never really told me all the details about what happened. Even during the weekend."

"We're great," Caitie said with a smile on her face. "He gave me a memento of our first date. It was so romantic. And we had a candle lit dinner…"

"Where?" asked Val curiously.

"Under the bleachers."

"Aww…Caitie, I'm so happy for you. I never knew Jamie could be such a romantic." 

"I know," she said with an uncharacteristic squeal. "Well, I better get to class. I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"Sure," said Val before putting her unneeded books in her locker.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands over her shoulders, causing her to give a small scream and drop her books. She turned around and the anger on her face quickly faded away.

"Sorry," said Tyler as he gave her a sheepish smile while picking her books up. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"Sure you didn't," she said before closing her locker and getting her books from Tyler. "Just don't do that again."

"I promise."

"What brings you here?"

"Do I need a reason just to see you?"

"That was a good one," she said as she began to walk away. 

"There's no harm in trying," he said before taking out a bunch of papers from his notebook. "I have the homework you left at the station last night. I believe you have that class right now."

"I have been looking all over for this," she said as she gave him a quick hug. "Thank you."

"Anytime," he said. "Well, I got to go. I'll see you later at lunch. Bye."

"Bye," she said as she watched him disappear in the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cafeteria was crowded as usual. Hank and Jamie were the first ones to arrive, followed by Val, Caitie, Marianne, and Tyler.

"You guys arrived here quick," commented Caitie.

"Starvation," replied Jamie as he moved over to give her some space.

"Do you guys have plans for tonight?" asked Hank. "I was hoping we could hang out or something."

"It's a school night, remember," Val told him. 

"We're off-duty today," said Hank. "I'm pretty sure we have time to spare. Besides, we haven't done that since the dance."

"I'm have some stuff to do with Brianne," said Caitie.

"I'm free…" Jamie said before turning to Caitie. "Is it all right if I go?" 

"You don't need my permission," said Caitie. "But thanks for asking."

"Tyler?" asked Hank.

"Actually…" he started but was interrupted by the intercom.

"TYLER CONNELL! PLEASE REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!"

"I have to go you guys," he said as he stood up. "Who wants the rest of my lunch?"

"I do," said Hank, not that anyone was surprised.

"I'll see you guys later," Tyler said before turning to Val. "And I'll meet you at the parking lot in front of the school."

"I'll see you then," she replied before getting a quick kiss from Tyler. "Bye."

With that, Tyler left the group.

"Do you guys have plans for tonight?" asked Hank.

"I'm having dinner at his house," Val replied. 

"Why aren't you coming later on?" asked Caitie with in a prying tone.

"We just want to hang out with each other for a while. Talk. Watch some movies. You know."

"I guess it's just the three of us then," said Hank.

"Actually, make that two," said Marianne.

"Why?" asked Hank.

"My dad just came home from his trip yesterday. I really had no idea until I got home from the mall. He wants to spend as much time with us as possible. He's taking us out to dinner tonight. I hope that's OK."

"Well, I guess," said Hank as he tried to hide his disappointment.

"You're the best," Marianne said as she gave him a hug. "I need to talk to you later however. It's really important."

"All right," Hank said as he ate the last of his food. "Do you guys want the rest of your food?"

"HANK!" scolded Marianne. "You just had Tyler's lunch."

"Don't you know that the way to a man's heart is a good meal?" said Hank.

"I think you got the saying all wrong," said Caitie.

"Whatever."

"You meant 'the way to a man's stomach,' right?" said Marianne with a snicker.

Everyone at the table laughed.

"Ha ha…not funny," said Hank abruptly with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I _discern_ that you are _irate_," said Jamie playfully. "Do you _covet_ the _remnants_ of my _rations_ as well?"

"Are you Jamie?" asked Val in disbelief. "Or Daniel Webster?"

"Look what you overachievers have done to my Jamie," said Caitie without being serious.

"I think he's been reading that vocabulary book a little bit too much," said Hank.

"Did I do it again?" asked Jamie. "I don't know why but the _terminology_ keeps _cascading_ out of my _orifice_?"

"If you don't stop that, I'm never going to speak to you again," said Caitie. 

"I'll _endeavor_ not to _utter_ them _repetitively_," Jamie said before bursting out into laughter.

The rest of the table chorused him in laughter. 

"That is so not you at all," said Marianne. "It's like Steve Urkel is trapped in your body, sans the laugh."

"Even Val doesn't talk like that," said Caitie.

"Or Bill Gates," said Hank. "You need to lay off on that book."

"Yea," Val said. "I'm sure you'll pass with…flying colors."

"Yes indeed," said Jamie. 

After a few more minutes of jokes and Jamie's unusual vocabulary, the bell rang, thus marking the end of the lunch period. As usual, everyone went off on his or her separate ways.

"Hank," Marianne called out before he was out of her sight. "I'll talk to you later."

"What is it about? You make it sound so serious."

"In your case, it might as well be."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hank inquisitively. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing," Marianne said as she left for her class. "I'll tell you later."

"Yea…later," Hank said a he forced a laugh, but somewhere behind the back of his head is a voice telling him that the news wouldn't be something to laugh about

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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This is just the beginning…or so the title says. I hope you guys liked it. I know it was rather short and not much of the plot is present yet. There will be more in the next chapters. You'll see : ) I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	2. Things are definitely looking up

ThingsAreDefinitelyLookingUp __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter.

****

Parent Trap

Things are definitely looking up

Tap…tap…tap…against the table goes the pencil on Jamie Waite's hand. His English teacher, Mrs. Lowry, who is also known as the "Wicked 'teach' from the West," was handing back their vocabulary tests. Jamie knew that his teacher wasn't very fond of him. In fact, she even told him herself. Jamie didn't really care. As far as he's concerned, the feeling is mutual. As Mrs. Lowry approached his desk, Jamie looked up, half-expecting the usual disappointment look on her face. Much to his amazement, she looked at him with a hint of satisfaction in her eyes and a smile on her face. _'Is she really smiling? Nah, I must be asleep again. Wake up, Waite! '_

"I must say that I am very impressed, Jamie," she told him as she gave him back his test. "You only missed half a point for misspelling 'curmudgeon' without the letter 'd.'"

"Very funny, Mrs. Lowry," Jamie said as he took the test from her. "Although that would be a nice grade to have."

"It is and congratulations on your success. I'm very proud of you and certainly very impressed."

As the teacher went back to the front of the room, Jamie looked at his paper. As the teacher told him, he only did miss half a point. Jamie couldn't help but smile.

"I actually did it," he said to himself, just before an announcement by the teacher.

"May I have your attention please!" she said. "May I have your attention please!"

"Will the real Mrs. Lowry please stand up?" said Joe Clark, one of the students, as a few snickers were heard in the room.

"I repeat…" she began in an irritated tone.

"Will the real Mrs. Lowry please stand up?" Joe repeated once again, causing the whole room to erupt in laughter.

"We're gonna have a problem here," she said as she took out her detention slips, but the class only burst into more laughter. "Joe, you just earned yourself a seat in detention."

Joe went up to get his slip, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"I didn't know you listen to Eminem, Mrs. L?" he said.

"Sit down, Mr. Clark!" she yelled in her most commanding tone as he scampered to his seat. "As I was saying, I would like to talk to all of you about the tests that I just got back. Almost half of you got C's or lower."

"Yea Jamie!" said Joe from behind him. "We just got mentioned."

"Mr. Clark, that is not something to be bragging about," she told him. "In fact, you should be ashamed of yourself. You had a whole week to study, but I guess you preferred watching…what is it called…MTV. And for your information, Mr. Waite got the highest grade in class."

Everyone turned around and looked at Jamie. Jamie shifted a bit on his seat.

"I did?" he asked her. "I mean, really?"

"You deserved it," said the teacher as she gave him another smile. "Now that that's behind us, take out your literature books, open to page 324, and start reading."

Jamie gladly took the book out and started reading. _'I can't wait till Mom and Dad hears about this.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the clock struck two, the last bell of the day rang. One by one, the students filed out of their classrooms. Val headed to her locker, where she found Caitie talking to Jamie. From the looks of it, both are extremely happy, especially Jamie. _'I wonder what happened.'_

"Hey guys!" she greeted them as Jamie stepped aside from her locker.

"Hey!" said Caitie.

"Hey Val!" said Jamie. "Guess what?"

"You passed one of your tests?" she guessed.

"Even better," he said. "I aced it and got the highest grade in class."

"That's great, Jamie," she said as she put her things in the locker. "What class is this?"

"I'll give you a hint: keeps cascading out of my orifice."

"You mean you aced that vocabulary test?"

"The one and only."

"I knew you'd pass with flying colors."

"And I did," said Jamie. 

"I'm so proud of you," said Caitie. "And as much as I mean that, it doesn't mean that I want you to repeat that act during lunch."

"Yes ma'am," said Jamie as he kissed Caitie on the lips.

Val looked at them and thought about how cute they were, but when they were still kissing after quite a while, she had to do something.

"OK you two, get a room," Val said as the two looked up. "People are looking."

"Hey Val," said Jamie to get off the subject. "Isn't Tyler waiting for you outside?"

"I totally forgot!" she said a she hurriedly closed her locker and grabbed her bag and a few books. "Thanks Jamie for reminding me. I'll see you guys later."

"Your gratitude is greatly appreciated," replied Jamie as Val waved at them and headed for the door.

"There you go again," said Caitie. "How easier it would have been to say 'you're welcome.""

"Well, at least we don't have any distractions anymore," said Jamie as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Maybe some other time, Waite," she told him as she put a finger on her lips. "I have to meet Brianne now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right," said Jamie. "I have to meet Hank later anyway. Have fun."

"You too," she said as she gave him a quick goodbye kiss. "Bye."

With that, Caitie left, and Jamie went on his separate way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val ran towards the front of the building and into the parking lot. She searched for Tyler but he was nowhere to be seen. _'Did he leave already? No, Tyler wouldn't do that…would he?'_

"There you are," said a voice from behind her. "Did you think I left already?"

"Hey you!" said Val as she greeted him with a kiss. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"I'm in no hurry," Tyler said as he took her books away from her hands. "Come on. I parked the car over there."

The two slowly walked over to the car.

"Is this your new car now?" asked Val.

"Nope. It's still William's. It's not like he cares. He has another car, and he barely used this one."

"Are you getting a new one?"

"Maybe," he replied as he opened the door for her before climbing into the driver's seat.

"Oh yea, I have been meaning to ask you. Why were you called down the principal's office?"

"They gave some award. It was nothing, really."

"Come on," said Val. "What is it?"

"It was just an award of recognition from the school board for what I have done for the past few years," he explained. "It was basically about my grades, after school activities, and community service. No big deal."

"That's a huge honor," Val exclaimed. "And that is a big deal. You should be really proud of yourself."

"I am," Tyler said as he gave her a convincing look.

"Are you sure?" she asked with concern.

"Positive," he said in his most credible tone. "Now would you please stop worrying?"

"Are you OK?" Val asked. 

"Yea Val, I'm fine," he said as he gave her another smile. "Trust me."

"If you say so," she said.

Silence hung between them for a while before Val spoke up.

"What's for dinner?" she asked.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and find out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank and Jamie were in the middle of a video game when the phone rang.

"Would you excuse me for a minute?" said Hank as he went to pick up the phone.

"You're excused," he said with eyes glued on the TV screen.

"Hello?" said Hank.

"It's Marianne," said the girl on the other line.

"Hey! I thought you had plans tonight."

"I do. We're leaving in a minute or two. I just want to tell you about the thing that I wanted to tell you."

"Go ahead," said Hank. "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could…"

"If I could what?"

"I'm sorry but I got to go. I'll tell you some other time."

"Wait!" called out Hank, but the other line was already busy. "I guess I have to wait until tomorrow. I never really did like suspense."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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And I guess you guys have to wait as well! I'll try to post the next chapter soon. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	3. Say it isn't so

SayItIsntSo __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Thanks to all that have reviewed this story so far. You guys are the best! And for the sake of this entire series, Jamie is the younger of two boys in the family. 

****

Parent Trap

Say it isn't so

"Do you ever get lost in that house?" asked Val as they turned to Tyler's driveway.

"Sometimes," he replied with a smile. "You'll get used to it after a while."

As they walked in his house, Val noticed an old man opening the door.

"You've met Jeffrey, haven't you?" Tyler asked Val about the family's butler.

"Yea. Good afternoon, Jeffrey."

"Good afternoon to you too, Ms. Valerie," he replied. "And you too, Mr. Tyler."

"You can call me Val."

"If you say so, Ms. Valerie."

With that, Jeffrey left.

"Ms. Valerie?" asked Val.

"Trust me," said Tyler. "Don't even bother."

Val laughed as Tyler led her inside.

"Feel free to look around. I'll just out my stuff upstairs."

After Tyler left, Val walked around the house a little bit. She turned into one hallway and noticed a dimly lit room. She went in and noticed that they were filled with a bunch of awards and pictures. As she looked around, she saw pictures of Tyler and his mom; some had William in them, and a few of Tyler and his friends. A single picture caught her gaze on one of the shelves. She went over to take a closer look. It was a picture of Tyler and his dad.

"He looks just like him," Val said.

On the picture was a small Tyler wearing a pint-sized football jersey as he sat on his dad's lap, who was wearing a business suit. 

"I miss him sometimes," said a somewhat gloomy voice from behind.

Val turned and saw Tyler as she had expected.

"I didn't mean to come in here," she tried to explain.

"It's fine, Val," he said as he went over to her. "I'm not upset or anything."

"When was this picture taken?" 

"When I was around eight years old…three years before he left."

"I'm sorry," Val started to say. "I shouldn't have come here."

"Hey," Tyler said as she grabbed her hands. "It's fine. Now come on."

As they exited the room, Tyler led them to the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"A little," she said.

As they made their way into the kitchen, Tyler's mom was already there.

"Hey kids!" she greeted them.

"Hey Mom!" Tyler greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "How was work?"

"The usual," she said. "Hey Val!"

"Good afternoon Mrs. Jenks," Val greeted, although she almost said Connell.

"You can call me Daphne."

"Well, I'll get the basement ready. Would you mind keeping Val company for a sec?"

"I'll be glad to," said his mom.

As Tyler left, there was an air of discomfort in the room.

"How's school going?" asked Daphne.

"Pretty good."

"How's your dad?"

"My dad?"

"I heard about his condition."

"He's doing great. Thanks for asking."

"You're birthday is coming up, right?"

"In a few weeks," said Val.

"Any plans?"

"It depends."

"Your sister, Brooke, works at the station as well, isn't that right?"

"She handles all the paperwork," she replied. _'How does she know all of this?'_

"Do you want some ice cream? We have Mint-Chocolate Chip. You like them, don't you?"

"They're my favorite," Val said uneasily. "Do you mind if I ask how you know all of this?" 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have been scaring you. It's just that Tyler talks about you a lot. More often than before since you two are going out now."

"Really?" Val asked as her cheeks started to turn red.

"Yes, but don't tell him that. He might get embarrassed."

"OK."

Just then, Tyler walked in.

"So, what has been my mom telling you?"

"Nothing in particular. Just, you know, ugly details about you."

"Really? Well, I'm sure we'll get to that topic some other time, right Mom?"

His mother smiled just as the door opened to reveal William.

"Hey everyone! Val, it's nice to see you again."

"You too, Mr. Jenks, I mean, William."

"Tyler, could you help me with some load here?"

"Sure," he replied as he headed to William's car.

After the guys left, Daphne started another conversation.

"I would like to thank you by the way."

"About what?" asked Val.

"For talking to Tyler. Whatever you told him during his birthday months ago, it really worked. He's getting along with William quite well."

"It was nothing," Val replied.

"Tyler's really lucky to have you. I've never seen him this happy."

"I feel the same way about him," Val said just as the guys returned.

"So, what's for dinner?" asked William

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few hours of talking, playing video games, and doing all other guy stuff, Hank and Jamie were beat.

"Do you want anymore soda?" asked Hank, who was sitting on the couch.

"Nah. I'm done for today."

"What else do you want to do?"

"To be perfectly honest, absolutely nothing."

"I'm glad. I'm really tired right now."

"Well, I have to get going. My parents should be home soon."

"Oh, that reminds me. How was your test?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I only got the highest grade in class."

"Wow. How much did you miss?"

"Half a point."

"I guess all the hard work finally paid off."

"Tell me about it. Well, I'll see you tomorrow Hank?"

"See ya!"

"And did Marianne tell you yet?"

"Not yet."

"Well, I'm not supposed to say anything, but I just want to tell you good luck."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Jamie…wait!"

"I know that's my name. Bye Hank!"

And in a jiffy, Jamie was out of the door. 

"You're a pal, Jamie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After he parked his motorcycle on the driveway, Jamie hurriedly went inside the house; something he didn't do since he was a kid.

"Mom! Dad! Is anyone here?"

"We're in the living room, Son!" called out his father.

Jamie was the younger of two boys. His brother, Peter, is in college.

"Mom. Dad. You would not believe what happened today."

"Is it about your test in English?" asked his mother.

"Yea…how did you know?"

"Your teacher called," replied his mom. "She told us you got the highest grade in class."

"Yea…I did. Why did she call?"

"She just wanted to congratulate you."

"She did that at school. Was there anything else? I know Mrs. Lowry, and she doesn't make that much house calls."

Mr. and Mrs. Waite looked at each other for a moment before returning their gaze to Jamie. Jamie shifted on his feet and decided that it would be better to sit down.

"Mrs. Lowry called because she wanted you to join this…um…club."

"What club, Mom?"

"Actually, it's more like an academic team."

"Ac…academic team?" Jamie said with a gulp. "How come I have a feeling that I don't want to hear what you're about to say next?"

"She asked if you could join."

"That's it. Well, for a minute there I thought I was going to be in the academic team. Thanks for telling her that I'm not interested…that is what you told her, right?"

"Well…"

"Mom! You didn't just put me in that team. I didn't even agree to that."

"She told us that your grade depends on it, you would be in charge of the literary language vocabulary category, it would be good for your college application, and all she needed was the parent's permission. Besides, you did pretty well on that exam."

"It was only one exam. One test. I can't be on the academic team. I'm not good enough for that."

"I told you he wouldn't be interested," whispered his dad to his mom. "I told you he won't be good enough."

"Wait…hold on…you don't think I can do it?" asked Jamie to his dad. "Are you saying that I'm no good?"

"No," replied Mr. Waite. "I was just saying that you won't be interested, and you never really did pay attention to any of this that I figured you won't be up for the challenge."

"Are you saying I'm quitter?" asked Jamie as his voice started to raise. "Are you?!? Are you?!?"

"No, not at all," said his dad. "And stop yelling. That is so irritating. You're starting to give me a headache."

"Is that all you think I can do? Give you a headache? Is that what you think of me?"

"Jamie, give me a break. You're brother was never like this."

"Now you're comparing me to Peter?" Jamie said in a very melodramatic tone. "Peter the perfect?"

"Jamie, all I said was that you won't be up for this. I have watched you since birth, and you hate when you fail."

"Well you know what, I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to join that academic team, and I'm going to prove to you that I'm no failure."

"OK, Jamie," started his dad. "That's great. Congratulations."

After his father's words sunk in, Jamie regretted the idea of ever opening his mouth.

"Wait! I didn't…"

"I knew you'd do it," said his mom.

"But I…" said Jamie as he spoke the last word.

With that, his mom and dad left. 

"That was great, Frank," whispered his mother. "Nice acting."

"You did pretty well too, Helen," replied his dad.

Jamie sat on the couch for a while without any idea to what had just happened. He overheard his parents talking in whispers. 

"I can't believe this!" said Jamie to himself. _'They just made me join the academic team. And it doesn't help that Dad was once a psychology major. The most annoying thing any parent could ever do to you is reverse psychology. I hate him. Well, I guess this is it. My life is officially over. Terminated. And my stupid mouth just won't shut up and had to say all of that. For once, I curse myself for not being a quitter._

Out of frustration, Jamie grabbed his bag and headed to his room. As he passed by his dad, he couldn't help but say something.

"Thanks a lot, Dad," he said sarcastically. "You're a really great father."

"I know. Nice speech by the way."

Jamie was about to scream, but he acted against it and went to his room with the door slamming.

"I hate my parents!" he yelled out loud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank was in his room, finishing the rest of his homework, when the phone rang. He quickly got up and picked it up, hoping it would be Marianne.

"Marianne?" he asked.

"Hank, hi," said the voice on the other line.

"So, how was the dinner with your dad?"

"It was good. We had fun. We're still going somewhere though. We just went back to the house to get something."

"That's cool. So…"

"So what?"

"What about that thing you wanted to talk about?"

"Promise me you won't freak out?"

"I promise."

"My dad wants to meet you."

"Is that it?"

"Aren't you intimidated or scared?"

"Is there any reason why I should be?"

"Aren't you afraid if he'd hate you?"

"Do you think he'd hate me?"

"Not really. It's just that in the past, the guys that I dated were afraid to meet him."

"Well, I'm not," he said. " I'm a likeable guy, and there's no reason for me to fear him…is there?"

"Well, my dad is…"

"What?"

"I have to go. My dad's coming. I'll tell you all the details later. Bye!"

"Not again," he said to himself. "Why does she always do this to me?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Dun dun dun! Another mystery : ) I hope you liked it! This chapter was quite long. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	4. Expect the unexpected

ExpecttheUnexpected __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Thanks to all that reviewed so far. 

****

Parent Trap

Expect the unexpected

From the ceiling hanged a crystal chandelier, hovering over the dining table where four individuals are seated. On the long ends of the table sat William and Daphne, Tyler's mom; on the wide side of the table sat Tyler and Val.

"The food is great, Mrs. Jenks…I mean…Daphne," Val said to penetrate the silence in the room.

"Thanks Val," Daphne replied.

"So, did you guys hear about Tyler's award?" Val asked.

Daphne and William looked up and faced Tyler. Tyler looked up and looked at Val.

__

'Oops…did I do something wrong? This feels like déjà vu,' Val thought.

"Tyler, why didn't you tell us?" asked William.

"I just got the award today," Tyler replied. 

"Congratulations," said his mom. "What was it for?"

"You know, academic achievements, athletic honors, and community service stuff that I did for the past year."

"That's great," said William.

"And William, thanks for everything. You know, with all the help on my studies."

"You're welcome," William said, although he was thoroughly surprised.

Tyler just smiled and went back to eating his food, although his gaze returned to meet Val's eyes. For a minute, Val thought he was mad at her, like the last time, but Tyler gave her a smile that assured her that everything was fine. Val has yet to be convinced.

"How about you, Val?" asked William. "Did you receive any awards?"

"Well, no," Val replied. "I…"

"Val doesn't need any certificate or award," Tyler cut in. "Everyone knows she's a terrific student, talented athlete, and a great EMT."

Once again, Tyler smiled at Val, but she still had a feeling that he was upset.

"That's great, too," said William.

And once again, the room was back in the state of silence_._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie was inside his room, still reliving the events that happened earlier. At the sound of a telephone ring, he jumped up and picked the phone up.

"Hello?" 

"Hey Jamie!"

"Caitie…how are you?"

"I'm good. How was your day with Hank?"

"Not bad. How was your thing with Brianne?"

"We finished what we had to do. What did your parents say?"

"About what?"

"Your test."

"I hate them."

"Why? I thought they would be proud of you."

"They are."

"Then what's the problem?"

"They made me join the…"

"The what?"

"The Ac…"

"Ac…"

"Aca…"

"Aca…"

"Acad…"

"JAMIE! Just say it!"

"Theymademejointheacademicteam," Jamie said in one breath.

"That's funny. For a second there, I thought you said they made you join the academic team."

"That's not funny," said Jamie in a whining tone.

"You mean…no!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!"

"OK. Calm down. You're not freaking out, are you?"

"Do I sound like I'm freaking out? Do I!?! Do I!?!"

"Actually, you do, and if you don't stop, I'll put the phone down."

"All right. I'm sorry, but I can't get out of this. I told my dad that I would do this to prove to him that I'm not a failure."

"Then do it."

"You're not mad at me?"

"Where did you get that idea?"

"Well, you don't like academic people, except maybe Val and some of the people on the squad."

"I'm not going to hate you. Just don't let it go to your head that you'll start wearing a tie and a suit."

"I won't. I guess that's one less thing to worry about."

"I think it's cute that you're worried I might hate you."

"Will that get me anything?"

"Not a chance," said Caitie with a laugh. 

Jamie laughed as well.

"I got to go," said Caitie. "Goodnight, Jamie."

"Night, Caitie," he replied as he put down the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dinner at Tyler's house was just about finished.

"Thanks for the dinner," Val said as she was about to leave.

"Anytime Val," said Daphne.

"Mom, I'm driving Val home. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Don't be late," said his mom. "And come back again soon, Val."

"Sure," Val replied. "Bye William."

"Bye Val," he replied.

Tyler handed Val her coat and led her outside. Before they could go anywhere, Tyler stopped at the front porch and faced Val.

"I know what you're thinking," he told her with that same smile and look on his eyes.

Val looked up into his eyes and for the first time, she started to feel that odd feeling in her stomach, like the ones she felt when they first met.

"You think I'm mad at you, don't you?" Tyler continued.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you haven't spoken a word to me since you told my parents about the award."

"Well, are you?" Val said as she dropped her gaze to the ground

"No, of course not," Tyler said as he lifted her chin up. "I'll never get mad at you…ever."

"But the last time…"

"Was the last time," Tyler continued. "Everything is different now. I'm not upset that you told them. Everything with William and I are fine."

"Well, it just felt like déjà vu, you know?"

"But it's not," Tyler said. "So you don't have to wor…"

"Tyler?" Val said as Tyler stopped and started behind her. "What's wrong?"

Val turned around and saw a brand new car with a card saying "TO TYLER." Tyler walked over to the car, while holding Val's hand. As they approached the car, they saw a stranger kneeling on one knee on the floor as though he was searching for something.

"May we help you?" asked Tyler. "And is this car really for me?"

"Actually, you can," said the man as he stood up to face them. "And this car is really for you."

Tyler took a step back, and inadvertently dropped Val's hand, for the reason that the stranger was no stranger at all.

"Dad."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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What did you think? Please R/R. I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be out soon. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182 


	5. The minor detail

TheMinorDetail __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Thanks to all that reviewed so far. 

****

Parent Trap

The minor detail

Tyler took a deep breath and tried to find a word to say…anything.

"How are you, son?" Mr. Connell said before Tyler can utter a word.

"Son?" Tyler said before realizing he was talking about him. "I mean, I'm, I'm fine."

"It's good to see you again. Do you like the car?"

"The car? Oh, the car. It's OK."

There was a moment of silence, and Val was in the middle of it. _'This is a disaster. What a night this has been!'_

"Tyler," she called out. "I should just go."

"No, no, wait," Tyler said as he returned his attention to Val. "I'll give you a ride."

Without saying a word to his father, Tyler took Val's hand and led her to the car. He immediately turned on the ignition and left the driveway, leaving a very confused Mr. Connell alone. Val glanced towards Tyler, and immediately, she sensed that something was wrong. His eyes were focused on the road, and he gripped the wheel of the car so tightly, it would have been out of air if it were alive. Val decided against saying anything, and just stared outside the window. When they reached the Lanier driveway, Tyler slowly parked the car. Val got out and was surprised that Tyler followed her to the door.

"I had a great time," Val told him.

"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier," Tyler apologized.

"What for? You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I'm fine."

"That was my dad."

"Really? I didn't even notice."

Tyler smiled and gave her a kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "Good night."

"Good night," she replied, but she noticed the small hint of gloom in his eyes. "Tyler, are you all right?"

"Yea. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Your dad just came back and all."

Tyler noticed the concern in her voice, and the last thing he needed was for Val to worry.

"Val, I'm fine. I can handle him."

Val still didn't look convinced.

"If anything comes up, I'll call you, OK?"

"OK."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After Val entered her house, Tyler deliberately walked slowly to his car in order to prolong seeing his new visitor once again. When he finally arrived at his house, he came in the backdoor, but everyone was there…even him.

"Hey son!" Mr. Connell greeted.

Tyler gave him a fake smile. He looked up and saw a very confused William and his mother, who still looked surprised.

"I have a great news. I'm staying here for a few weeks."

"Great!" Tyler said. "I better get to bed." 

Tyler hurried to his room and closed the door shut. _'This is going to be a long few weeks.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another school day has started. Bound to the academic team for the rest of the semester, for Jamie, nothing could get any worse. And it was because he opened his mouth. After years of living with him, he should have mastered it by now, but he fell in his trap once again. _'I should have known.'_

"Mr. Waite!" called a voice from afar. _'It does get worse. Now she's following me.'_

"Hello Mrs. Lowry," greeted Jamie.

"I heard that you decided to join the team."

"More like tricked into," he said under his breath.

"Your mother might have told you already, but you're in charge of the literary language vocabulary category."

"I know," he said dreadfully.

"I'm sure we'll have a blast," she said cheerfully.

"Very," he said with the most fake smile he had done.

"I thought you would never join. This is like a dream come true. I've finally turned a student around."

"It's more like a nightmare," Jamie said after she left. 

In that same second, the late bell rang, and Jamie could hear Carlson's footsteps as he headed towards him.

"I'm cursed. Doomed. Done for."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank came out of his last class when he saw Marianne pass him by.

"Marianne!" he called as he fought through a crowd of people to get to her.

"Hi Hank!" she greeted. "What's up?"

"You didn't finish telling me last night."

"About what?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about your dad."

"What about him?"

"You tell me. You said your dad might hate me. And then last night you said something about your dad being something, but you had to go so you didn't finish."

"Can I tell you later?"

"I want to know right now," Hank said in a surprisingly demanding tone, earning him an angry look from Marianne. "Pretty please?"

"OK, but only because you said please," Marianne smiled. "My dad is just overly strict. He intimidates most guys. I don't want you to be like the others and just leave me because they are scared of him."

"Who said I'm leaving you?"

"That's what they all said," Marianne told him. "I really want him to like you as much as I do."

"Well, maybe not that much," Hank joked as Marianne playfully punched him. "I promise I won't be intimidated by him. I've met a lot of strict and intimidating people in my days."

"I hope so," she said.

"So is that it?"

"That's basically all the major details."

"So, how many is this 'others' we're talking about?"

"Hank, you're such a guy."

"Come on, just give me a ball park."

"It's definitely lesser that a ball park. Now I really have to go to class. I'll see you at lunch."

"Bye," Hank said as he went to his class as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val and Caitie were the first people to arrive at the cafeteria. While they waited for the others, Caitie asked Val about the night before.

"How was the dinner with his parents?"

"It was OK."

"That's it?"

"Well, basically. It was all great until…"

"Until what? Did he break up with you?"

"No, no," Val said disapprovingly. "His dad came back."

"William?"

"No, his real dad from California."

"Was there a fight?"

"No, but he was really shocked. I'm a little worried about him."

"Well, at least there was no fight like the last time you had dinner with his family."

"At least."

Just then, the rest of the group arrived and sat on their seats.

"How did it go last night?" Val asked Tyler.

"What happened?" asked Hank.

"My dad returned."

"Oh," Hank said. "How was it?"

"We didn't really talk," said Tyler.

"How long is he staying?" asked Marianne.

"For a few weeks."

"Same here. My dad just came back as well."

"My parents are divorced," Tyler informed her. "So, where is your dad staying?"

"At our house," Marianne replied uneasily. "Where's you dad staying?"

"At our house as well."

"That sounds like fun," Jamie commented. 

"Yea. Fun."

Hank decided to change the topic.

"Marianne, what about that dinner at your house?"

"I almost forgot. Are you free tonight?"

"Luckily, I am."

"The dinner is at my house. I'll pick you up since you don't know where I live yet."

Jamie choked on his food and laughed at the fact that Hank didn't know where Marianne lived, but that's not the only reason. Somehow, Marianne told Val and Caitie about the whole ordeal, and Caitie told Jamie at one of their random conversations.

"Is there a problem Jamie?" Hank asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I just choked on this fry."

Hank nodded and turned back to Marianne.

"What time?"

"Is seven OK with you?"

"Seven it is."

"And try to dress up nicely."

"I'll remember that."

The six students continued eating, before the rang and it was time for them to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank waited patiently…or impatiently near the front door of his house. It was almost seven, and he's scared as heck to meet Marianne's dad…whoever he is. Hank jumped at the sound of the doorbell. As expected, Marianne was at the front door. The only thing that confused Hank was that she was a little bit…dressed down.

"What are you wearing?" asked Marianne at Hank's black and white tux.

"You said to dress nicely."

"I did, but I didn't say dress up for prom."

"I'll change if you want."

"Never mind. My dad hates it when people are late."

"If you say so," Hank said as he mentally cursed himself.

As he quietly sat on the passenger's seat, Hank was surprised at the familiar surroundings.

"I haven't been to your house, have I?" Hank asked.

"I'm pretty sure that you haven't."

"The place looks so familiar."

As they turned right, Hank noticed the street name. _'Dried Earth Boulevard? Why does that sound so familiar? Maybe I heard it on the news.'_

"We're here," Marianne said as she parked the car.

Hank looked at the house number._ '3427? Have I been here before?'_

"Hank?" Marianne said. "Are you OK? Come on!"

"Yea…I'm coming."

Marianne rang the doorbell, and Hank shifted slightly on his feet as he waited for the door to open. As the doorknob turned, someone familiar came into view, and it was not only familiar to Marianne's eyes.

"Dad, I would like you to meet Hank."

"You!" Marianne's dad said angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh dear God heaven almighty," Hank said.

"Did I miss something here?" asked Marianne. "Have you two met?"

"Marianne, you told me all the major details," Hank whispered. "But I think you forgot to tell me the minor one."

"Hank, this is my dad," she told him with an apologetic look. "General McLemore of the U.S. Army."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

First off, I have to hand it to Ivy Leaves for the terrific guess. Good job! I just didn't say anything because I didn't want t ruin it for everybody. I hope I surprised some of you people. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I only have six more days of school left and then I can write all I want. Don't forget to review! I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	6. Uneasy - Unnerving - Unlucky

UneasyUnnervingUnlucky __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Thanks to all that reviewed so far. 

****

Parent Trap

Uneasy - Unnerving - Unlucky

Hank was on the verge of running as fast as he could, but the words that Marianne spoke to him earlier held him on his place. _'This is not a minor detail. THIS IS A MAJOR ONE! I can't believe this. I have the worst karma. But I promised Marianne that I wouldn't freak out! I promised not to be intimidated. Then again, he intimidated me even before this. Well, at least things can't get any worse.'_

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. McLemore," Hank said as he extended his hand.

Mr. McLemore just looked at his hand and then at him. Hank slowly took his hand away and gulped in fear.

"That's General McLemore to you," he said firmly.

"Dad…" Marianne started to protest.

"I don't want to hear it, Marianne," he told her. "Let's just go inside and eat."

After Marianne's dad left, she took Hank's had and let him inside.

"I'm really sorry."

"It's all good," he said just before passing by the room that contained military awards, plaques, and medals. "I'm not the least bit intimidated."

Hank carefully pulled out a chair for Marianne and then sat beside her, as far away from her dad as possible.

"Dad, how did you meet Hank?" asked Marianne.

"There was some call from his, um, EMS thing, and he went to our house."

"Did anything happen?"

"It was a false alarm, right Hank?"

"Right," Hank replied uneasily.

Hank looked around the table and spotted Marianne's mother and some guy a little bit older than him. _'It's probably her brother, Jake.'_ Hank ate while putting his etiquette skills into action. While eating, he tried to come up with ways to get on Marianne's dad's good side. It wasn't easy to please an army general.

"Marshall, could you pass me the pot roast?" asked Mrs. McLemore.

"Here," said Mr. McLemore as he passed her the roast.

"That's really cute!"

Everyone at the table turned to the owner of the voice, and Hank could not have been more terrified.

"What was really cute?" asked Marianne's dad.

"You know, how your wife calls you by a military nickname," said Hank.

Jake burst out laughing, but directly covered his mouth when his dad looked at him. Marianne could only feel sorry for him.

"Actually, Marshall is my first name. And my name has two L's. Marshal on has one."

"Oh," was all Hank could say. _'So it does get worse.'_

"Anybody want some more salad?" asked Marianne to remove the attention off Hank.

"I do," Hank said quickly as he grabbed the container from Marianne.

"I didn't know salads were available in the South?" asked Marshall.

"Excuse me?" Hank asked. _'The south?'_

"Well, isn't that where you and your penguin buddies come from?"

Jake laughed once again and this time louder than before. Hank was confused until he looked down at his attire.

"Dad, leave him a lone," Marianne told him.

"What?" he said as he gave a small laugh. "I was just trying to make a joke."

"And it was pretty funny," Hank said as he smiled at him, but Mr. McLemore only frowned at his comment. _'OK, so he doesn't like me a little.'_

A few awkward moments passed by, when Mr. McLemore spoke once again.

"So Hank, do you play any sports?"

"I'm the co-captain of the football team," Hank told him. _'That should impress him.'_

"Co-captain? Why? Aren't you good enough to be captain?"

"Well, I am but…"

"What position?" he asked before Hank could finish.

"Quarterback."

"Oh," he said as though disappointed.

"Is there something wrong with being the quarterback?" asked Hank.

"Well, nothing," Mr. McLemore told him. "I just think it's a cowardly position, that's all."

__

'Great! Now he thinks I'm a wuss.'

"Well, I think of it as the opposite of cowardly," Hank told him. "Throwing a ball accurately is harder than it seems."

"Are you contradicting me?" he asked Hank.

"No, I was just saying that I think…"

"I don't care what you think," he told him. "And for the record, never contradict me in front of my family."

"Dad!" Marianne almost yelled. "He was just stating his opinion! What is your problem, anyway?"

"Marianne, you know better than yell at me," said her father. "You are being very disrespectful."

"You're the one to talk," she said as she abruptly got up. "Come on, Hank. It seems that we're not wanted around here."

Hank stood up and followed Marianne, who was already at the door.

"The food was excellent, Mrs. McLemore," Hank said. "Only the best women could cook like that."

"I was the one who cooked," said Marianne's dad.

"Oh, well, I'll see you all later," Hank said as he hurried to the door while silently scolding himself._ 'You should have shut your mouth, Beecham.' _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler and Val were eating at The Tomato Palace, which is known to have the best pizzas in town. Tyler insisted on eating there instead of going to his house, so Val decided to keep him company.

"How's home?" asked Val.

"Great! Couldn't be better."

"Really? Then why are you here instead of there?"

"It's kind of crowded there already."

"Yea…four people and a butler in one enormous house. That's a large bunch."

Tyler didn't seem to pay attention. He just stared at his food.

"Tyler?"

"What?"

"Is everything fine at home? You seem rather distracted."

"Yea. Everything's perfect."

"Is this about your dad?"

"No, of course not," he told her as convincingly as possible. "Wh…wh…why would you think that?"

"Ever since he came back you seem more troubled than often."

"He's back, Val," Tyler said in a tone that only meant uncertainty. "After years of not seeing him, he's back."

"I thought you saw him like about a year or two ago?"

"For only a mere minute during that school play. A small glimpse. He told my mom to tell me that he could not stay because he had some work to do."

"I'm so sorry."

"And he didn't even return my calls. I probably have a better relationship with his secretary than with him."

"Have you talked to him?"

"I can't talk to him."

"But he's your dad. Don't you miss him?"

"I do, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know how," Tyler said in frustration, anger, and unhappiness. "I don't know how."

Val noticed that Tyler was almost about to cry. Val reached out for his hand as her heart started to break for him. She hasn't seen him act this way before.

"Tyler, it's going to be fine."

"How?"

"Because you are going to talk to him no matter what. He's your father. You can't stay away from him forever. Maybe he regretted all the things that he did. I mean, he came all the way down here to visit you. And he's staying for a few weeks just to see you. You were the one who told me that this doesn't happen often. Well, it's here now, and you should take advantage of this. You deserve to be happy."

"Maybe you're right," he said in almost a whisper.

"Of course I am," Val smiled at him, bringing out a faint smile to his lips.

"I guess I have to face him sooner or later."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yea."

As they got out of the pizzeria and headed for Tyler's car, Val noticed a rather familiar vehicle speeding rapidly past them.

"Was that Marianne?" she asked.

"I think so."

"She looked upset. Maybe she had a fight with Hank."

"Well, probably not. She just came from his house's direction."

"Whatever the problem is, she was definitely not in a good mood."

"You can count on that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another day started, and Jamie couldn't have been more disappointed. To make matters worse, he woke up late so he had to move twice as fast in order to get to school on time. All his classes seemed to pass by in record time, but English went by in a drag. And just as English was about to be over, someone decided to keep him there.

"Jamie, could you stay for a few minutes? We need to talk."

Jamie didn't reply, but simply sat down as everyone left the classroom.

"Once again, I'm glad that you joined the Kingsport Academic team."

"Same here," Jamie lied. _'Please lady, cut to the chase.'_

"I just want to tell you that we have a meet next week. It's going to be at Hamilton High School. Their team is ranked number 2 in the state. We're number 7. You have 4 other members with you. It's going to be quite fun. We will…"

"I completely understand what you're telling me," Jamie said in order to cut her off._ 'Please spare me the details.'_

"Also, we'll be meeting after school from 2:00 to 3:00 for practice starting tomorrow, so you better be prepared and ready."

"I'll see you then," Jamie said as he stood up. _'Now you're taking away the only spare time that I have? This is a joke! Caitie will never forgive me, and it's all my dad's fault.'_

Jamie couldn't have been happier to finally leave the classroom and leave her. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. Lunchtime was the same, although everyone had their own problems, except for Val and Caitie. The next thing Jamie knew, he was at the station ready to do his shift. Surprisingly, he was the first one. A couple of minutes later, Hank walked in the door.

"How are you, Cadet Hank?" Jamie asked in a joking tone.

"I'm fine," Hank said before realizing that Jamie just called him a cadet. "Wait a minute, you knew all along didn't you?"

"Knew what?" asked Jamie innocently.

"You just called me 'cadet.' You knew about Marianne's dad."

"Girls tell each other everything. And girls talk. What can you do?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked angrily.

"You didn't ask," Jamie smiled. "So, did the general make you do push-ups?"

"I would have preferred that than his verbal put-downs. Man, he hated me."

"That's what generals do."

"Why didn't you say anything when we got a call to Marianne's house?"

"We didn't go to her house, did we?"

"I thought you knew. He was that rude guy when Brooke's friends decided to play around."

"You mean the one in the military suit? That was Mr. McLemore?"

"In the flesh."

"You're in deep trouble right now. Did he remember you?"

"The moment he saw me, his face was filled with disapproval."

"Talk about misfortune."

"Well, what about you? How's our Academic boy?"

"I'm having the most horrid luck nowadays. And Lowry just won't leave me alone. Also, for the next several days, I will be _frittering_ the only leisure time that I possess practicing with a bunch of academic overachievers. No offense, Hank."

"None taken. At least after the whole competition is over, you won't be seeing them. I swear Marianne's dad is going to hunt me down for as long as I'm with her."

"Yea. At least."

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__

Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you liked it, and don't forger to review. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	7. The troubles keep coming and coming

TheTroublesKeepComingandComing __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. Again, thanks to all of you who reviewed. School's finally over! Thank God! Anyway, back to the story, you can read now… 

Note to Chase: Mr. McLemore is partly based upon the stories you told me about your dad.

****

Parent Trap

The troubles keep coming and coming

School was finally over for the day. While most of the students hoped for the last class to end, Jamie found himself wishing the opposite. The end of the last class could only mean the beginning of the after school academic team practice. Jamie still couldn't imagine that he was part of the team. The team he used to make fun of and loathe. Most importantly, he couldn't imagine how he had gotten himself into this mess. 

"Actually, it's not my fault," he thought out loud.

Going to his locker, Jamie bumped into Caitie and Val.

"Hey Jamie!" Caitie said as she greeted him with a peck on the cheek.

Jamie tried to look amused and satisfied, but nobody said he was a good actor.

"I'm happy to see you too," Caitie said sarcastically. "OK, Jamie. Spill it."

Caitie has known Jamie for a long time, and she could tell immediately when something is bothering him.

"Spill what? I have nothing to spill. By the way, I can't come with you guys this afternoon."

"Why not?"

"I have some after school thing to do."

"What school thing? I didn't know you had any extracurricular activities."

"Starting today until the end of the competitions, I have to practice after school with the academic team."

"Are you kidding me?" Caitie almost laughed. "The Jamie I know would just skip that."

"Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you think."

"I know you're doing this to prove that you're not a failure or a quitter. You're the one who used to tell me 'why bother?' You know you're not any of those so you don't have to prove anything. I thought you hated this anyway."

"Believe me, I hate this a lot more than you, but now that I'm in it, I won't back down."

"You should come with us," Caitie said in a whining tone to persuade him. "We're toilet-papering Mr. McGee's house."

For the first time, Val said something.

"You mean old man McGee?"

Caitie nodded.

"Guys, that is so mean. The poor man can't even stand up to clean his own house, let alone pick up a bunch of toilet paper on his property."

"Come on, it's not like it's two-ply," remarked Caitie as Val's eyes widened with surprise. "Val, I was just kidding. We're not that mean." 

"At least not to him," Jamie said as he laughed.

"Well, bye Jamie," Caitie said in the least bit disappointed tone. "I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

"You're not mad that I bailed on you guys?"

"Not really," Caitie said as a devilish smile crept on her face. "Besides, now that I think about it, it would be more fun this way."

"Very funny," Jamie said as he gave her a goodbye kiss. 

"Have fun with the future leaders of America," Caitie called out as she and Val left.

"I will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day was the same as always. Hank tried to stay up in his U.S. history class. As much as he liked the subject, the teacher is basically a human sleeping pill. Coincidentally, they were talking about the war, which was mostly about the military for the time being. From Hank's point of view, military is to army; army is to general; general is to Mr. McLemore; Mr. McLemore is to Marianne's dad, and that could only mean…goodbye Hank. He shivered at the thought.

"…The military are the living heroes of America," said his history teacher, Mr. Liebhold. "Right now, I want to introduce to you one of those heroes. He had lived all over the world, and now he has returned and paid a visit to his hometown. I've known him since we were in high school, but as I became a history teacher, he went on to become a general of the U.S. Army."

Hank looked up. _'Please don't be him. Please don't be him.'_ Hank closed his eyes in hopes that it would not be Marianne's dad. As the person came in, Hank could only hear his footsteps.

"Good morning, everyone," the person greeted. "I'm Marshall McLemore."

Hank sank lower in his chair, grateful for the fact that he sat at the back of the class.

"You probably know my daughter Marianne, who just transferred here."

At that very second, every single hope within Hank has basically vanished as each and every student in the class turned to him. Everyone knew who he was, and everyone knew that he dated her. It only took time for Mr. McLemore to catch on with the students' gaze.

"Hank," he said. "I didn't know you took this class."

"Well, you do now," he said as nervousness crept into his veins once again.

"As I was saying, you probably know my daughter," he continued as he stared directly at Hank. "In the army, we risk our lives to serve our country. I've been to a number of missions. I almost got blown up once."

A few of the students laughed.

"It's not funny," he told them sternly.

"Hank's history," said one of the kids in front of him. 

Hank heard what he said, and the next thing he knew, he started to see a picture of himself in his history book. Hank shook his head to get rid of the image.

"I'm going to be here for a few weeks," said Mr. McLemore. "The principal and I reached an agreement and decided that we should have a sort of boot camp here in Kingsport High School. Those of you who are planning to join the army are welcome. If you think you can survive under my jurisdiction, then show it. Since I'm in this classroom already, are there any volunteers?"

Only one person raised their hand.

"What's your name?" Mr. McLemore asked.

"Larry Ward."

What sport do you play?"

"I'm on the track team."

"There is a sign-in booth outside so you can sign-up there. Are there any more volunteers?"

No one raised their hand.

"Hank," he called out. "Why don't you join?"

"Nah, I can't miss any of my classes."

"You're going to be excused."

"I don't think so."

"Come on, it would be fun. You're a tough guy after all. The co-captain of the football team. The quarterback. Larry is from the track team. You must be tougher than that."

"Do you really think I'd be a perfect candidate, sir?"

"No, but I'd like to see you try anyway," he told him. "Be all you can be, Hank."

__

'This is great. He's insulting me, and his getting his way.'

"Fine," Hank said. "I'll do it." _'He's going to kill me.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler waited impatiently for his dad. It had been almost three hours, and he still did not show himself. He made up his mind once and for all to have a word with him. He didn't really know what to say or where to begin, so he decided to just go with the flow.

"But only dead fish go with the flow," Tyler mumbled Jamie's favorite quote kept repeating in his head. "Well, let's hope not."

After a full three hours had passed, Tyler got up and headed to the station to do his shift. _'Well, that's three hours I'll never see again.'_ As soon as he got to the station, all thoughts about his father had vanished away. He was the last person to arrive, seeing that everyone was already in his or her uniforms. 

"I'm sorry I was late," Tyler told them. "I was actually waiting for somebody."

"That's a big coincidence," Hank said.

"Why?" Tyler asked in confusion

"Because somebody has been waiting for you here as well," stated Val.

"Who?" 

"At Alex's office," said Jamie.

Tyler looked at them curiously before heading to Alex's office.

"Alex…Dad," Tyler said when he saw his father on one of the chairs.

"Please sit down," said Alex.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked Alex. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see where you work."

"You could've asked me to take you here. I had been waiting for…never mind."

"I was going to, but I had some business to discuss with Alex."

"Business? About what?"

"Regarding you."

Tyler looked at Alex and saw a hint of disgruntlement on his face.

"What about me? Is something wrong?"

"Well," started his Mr. Connell. "I have been meaning to ask you something."

"What? I think that if this conversation is about me, then I need to know what's going on."

"Alex and I have been talking…" his dad held back on his words.

Tyler glanced over Alex, who still had a discontent look on his face. _'Did someone die? Dead fish? OK, stop with this fish already.'_

"We've been talking about the…"

The alarm went off.

"I have to go," Tyler said in a hurry. "We'll finish this some time."

As soon as Tyler left the office, Alex and Matthew Connell continued on their discussion.

"Is this really necessary?" Alex asked.

"It's not my problem."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

You guys are probably wondering what's the deal with Tyler : ) It'll probably be out on the next chapter. I'll be leaving for vacation soon, but I'll leave you guys with a few stories to read. I hope you liked it! I'll post the next chapter up soon. I didn't think this story would be that long, but oh well. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	8. Face the facts

FacetheFacts __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. I'm leaving on Saturday for two weeks, so I hope this keeps you occupied until I return. Please read and review! Thanks to those who read this so far. 

****

Parent Trap

Face the facts

Tyler went home immediately after he finished his shift. He was in a hurry to talk to his dad. From Alex's expression, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was going on.

"Dad!" he called out.

"I'm here in the office."

"That's William's office," Tyler told him.

"Who cares? It's not like he's going to do anything about it."

"Can we talk for a while?" Tyler asked as he dismissed his comments.

"Sure."

"I prefer if we talk in the living room."

"If you say so."

Once they reached the living room, Tyler's dad sat on the lazy boy.

"What do you want to discuss?" he asked.

"I think you know what I want to know."

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Come on, Dad. Stop playing around. I want to know what you were talking about at the station."

"Oh that," he said as his face grew serious.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

"How would you like to come to Europe with me?"

"Europe?" Tyler asked.

"Just for fun. I want to spend time with you."

"But school is still going on."

"It's only for a week or so."

"Can't we do it some other time?"

"I thought you always wanted to do something with me?"

"I did."

Matthew Connell's expression saddened.

"I mean, I do, but I'm busy."

"It's the only time that I have."

Tyler was about to question the fact that his dad can take any day off as long as he wants. '_He owns the company for crying out loud.'_

"Is there a catch?" Tyler asked.

"What makes you think there's a catch?" he said while avoiding Tyler's eyes. "Is there anything wrong with a father wanting to spend some quality time with his son?"

"I have to think about this," Tyler said.

"You have to decide soon. I already have the tickets."

"You have the tickets?" 

"I was just being optimistic. I assumed that you wanted to spend time with me."

__

'OK, so he's trying to make me feel guilty. I want to spend time with him, but I have a feeling that there's a catch.'

"If it really means a lot to you…"

"It does," said his dad.

"I guess I can go."

"That's great. We're leaving in two days."

"Two days?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No," Tyler said. "I'm going to go to my room now."

Tyler shut the door and lied down on his bed.

"I guess it's fine to go. It's only for a week or so."

He turned to his calendar.

"There's basically nothing…" he started. "Except mine and Val's one month anniversary. How could I have forgotten? This is great. How am I going to explain this to her?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School began once again, but not for Hank. For him, boot camp is about to start. He tried to let Jamie or Tyler sign up, but they deserted him.

"So much for friends," he said.

Hank was wearing the attire that they were assigned to wear: camouflage pants, a white shirt, and black boots. The attire was already picked out when they signed up. They just had to choose their appropriate size.

"Looking good, Beecham," kidded Jamie, who was followed by Marianne. "I guess it really pays off to be dating the genera's daughter."

"You just love twisting the knife, don't you Waite?" said Hank.

"You look good," said Marianne.

"Too bad you're dad is not judging us on looking good," Hank said. "He's going to pulverize me."

"Macerate!" said Jamie. "Hammer! Destroy! Annihilate!"

"Thank you for your words of encouragement, _Webster_," Hank told him. "Now quit it."

"Don't be nervous," Marianne said. "Daddy doesn't hate you."

"He made me join this, and then he said that he doesn't think I'm a perfect candidate," Hank almost screamed. "Is that something someone would say if they don't hate you?"

"Please Hank," Marianne told him. "Get a hold of yourself."

"Stop freaking out," Jamie said. "If he _perceives_ you like this, he will _unquestionably loathe_ you more and _satirize_ you."

"Jamie," Hank said his name slowly as he gave him a smile.

"Yes Hank!"

"Shut up!"

"Yes Hank sir!" he laughed.

At the same time, Mr. McLemore approached them.

"Marianne," he said. "Don't you have to head to class?"

"I better go, Hank," she said as she ignored her father. "I'll see you later."

She gave him a kiss. Hank looked after her until she disappeared in the crowd. When he turned around, Mr. McLemore was looking at him with looks that could kill.

"Hello sir," he said. "I'm here for the boot camp training."

"I know," he told him. "And who are you?"

"Ja…Jamie Waite, sir."

"Are you here for the training?"

"I'm just here to support my buddy, sir," Jamie smiled uneasily.

"Well Waite, if you don't leave my sight, I'll drag you to this camp, and you'll be waiting in the hospital without a body to support what little brain you have!"

"Now that was uncalled for, Marshall," Jamie said as he pretended to be sad and put an arm around his shoulders as though they were longtime friends. "I'm deeply hurt."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily. 

"Trying to promote good comradeship," Jamie said.

"You're cute, Waite," Mr. McLemore said. "But I'm not impressed. For your actions, Hank will have to do ten pushups."

"I don't think that's fair at all, Mr. McLemore," complained Jamie.

"Twenty."

"Wait a minute…"

"Thirty."

"Jamie, just stop talking and leave," cried out Hank. "You've done enough."

"I was just trying to help. This isn't fair at all. No wonder Marianne hates you."

Mr. McLemore just looked at Jamie with a hurtful yet unwavering look.

"Beecham," he said. "Do fifty pushups." 

"Just because you hate me doesn't mean you have to insult my friends or hurt your daughter," Hank said. "And why do you dislike me so much? What have I done to you?"

"I don't dislike you, Hank," he said. "No wait, that's probably in another reality."

Hank just started at him without any trace of emotions on his face.

"I don't like to repeat myself, so do fifty pushups," he told him. "Now!"

"Yes sir!"

Hank stopped on his tracks and started to do the first of his fifty pushups. He had a determined look on his face. He wasn't mad at Marianne. He wasn't mad at Jamie. He was mad at him, and right now it's war.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie looked once again at his reflection on the mirror.

"This is not comfortable at all," he complained.

"You look great, son," said his dad.

"I'm still not talking to you," Jamie said.

"I'm sorry, James, but I'm afraid you just did."

Jamie glared at him causing a smile on his face.

"I love you, son," he said as he gave him a pat on the back. "Good luck."

"Bye mom," he said as she gave her a good bye kiss. "Dad."

Jamie left on his motorcycle. He had to admit that wearing a suit does not fit the description of someone who rides a motorcycle. He was grateful that he didn't get anything on his suit. _'I'll be a laughing stock if I did.'_ When he arrived, he was met by an inquisitive look from Caitie.

"What did you do to Jamie?" she asked.

"I turned him into a preppie," he said. "Did it work?"

"It sure did," Val said. "You don't look right."

"I know," he said. "I've seen myself in the mirror. It was such a painful sight."

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, you look really handsome," said Caitie. "Even with the preppie clothes."

"Thank you," Jamie said. "I better meet with Lowry over there. I can't be late for the first meet."

"Good luck, Jamie," said Val.

"Thanks."

"Have fun with the other overachievers!" said Caitie.

"I'll try."

With that, Jamie ran to Mrs. Lowry's room.

"Am I late?"

"You're just in time," she said. "Nice suit."

"Thank you."

"Now head to the bus with the others," she said. "Let's beat Hamilton in their own game."

"Yes ma'am," he said before running once again to the bus. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie looked around when they arrived at Hamilton. It was a huge school. A little bigger than Kingsport, but it was obvious that they had a lot more funding. They headed to the auditorium to begin the competition. Jamie and the rest of team sat on the left side of the stage, while Hamilton's team sat on the right.

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 27th Annual Academic Bowl," said Frank Liaison, who is the host of the event. 

There was a huge round of applause. Jamie noticed that a lot of Hamilton students watched the event. _'What's the huge commotion about? These people need lives.'_

"I would like for you to give a nice welcome to the team from Kingsport High School."

Jamie looked around and saw that most of the people who applauded were the grownups. He heard some occasional boos that were from the students. _'Gee, they're treating this as if it is a football game.'_

"And why don't we give a round of applause to our very own Hamilton."

Jamie noticed that everyone was cheering for them. He shook his head. The speaker told both teams to shake hands with one another. Jamie approached the guy he was up against with. For some reason, he looked vaguely familiar.

"Have we met before?" the guy asked.

"I don't know," Jamie said. "I think we might have met at a football game in Kingsport."

"Oh yea, you're Jamie Waite," he laughed quietly. "Future school dropout."

Jamie laid off his comment with a smirk.

"And you must be Gregory Franklin," he said as he clenched his fists. "Future recipient of a black-eye."

"Guys, cut it out," said Anna Maeser from Jamie's team.

Jamie backed away as Gregory sent him an conquering grin that made his blood boil. _'We'll see who's the better man.'_ At the sound of the bell, the competition has begun. Each team answered each question thrown at them, and it was more of a race than an academic competition. 

"This is the final question for Hamilton," said the host. "This one goes to you, Mr. Franklin. If by chance you miss this question, Mr. Waite will have one shot at the answer. If he misses, Hamilton will win."

There were a few cheers and gasps from the crowd.

"Here is the question: what verb of Yiddish origin means to complain, especially chronically? First, give me the name of the word. Second, spell it."

Gregory looked at Jamie, and Jamie gave him one of those smiles that intimidates people.

"Grouse. G-r-o-u-s-e. Grouse."

"Well, you spelled that one correctly."

Gregory smiled and sighed with relief.

"But you got the wrong word."

Sighs of frustration were emitted from the crowd.

"Jamie Waite, the question goes to you: what verb of Yiddish origin means to complain, especially chronically? First, give me the name of the word. Second, spell it."

Jamie smiled once again at Gregory, who was looking expectantly for him to mess up.

"Kvetch. K-v-e-t-c-h. Kvetch."

"Correct!" he said.

Jamie's teammates jumped for joy and gave him hugs. Mrs. Lowry followed and just extended a han a to him.

"Well done, Jamie," she said. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Lowry. I couldn't have done it without you."

"It was all you, Jamie. It was all you."

Jamie smiled as he celebrated with this teammates. Even though it was only their first competition, he developed respect for the people who competed in these type of events, especially his teammates. For the mean time, he decided not to share his thoughts with anyone. After all, he had a reputation to maintain, and he wasn't just about to let his dad think that he was right, like he always was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler drove over to Val's house to discuss his plans with her. He felt bad for the reason that it was their anniversary. It means a lot to him as much as it does to her, but he already told his dad, and he didn't want to hurt him. He figured that he'll see Val once he returns anyway, but his dad will be leaving soon.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Tyler said.

"Who?" asked somebody behind him.

"Val, what are you doing here?" Tyler asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, I live here," Val smiled.

"I know that, but I thought you were inside your house?"

"I was, but I decided to take a little walk."

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You know about next week right?"

"You mean my birthday?" Val raised her eyebrows.

__

'Now I'm in deep trouble. Her birthday falls on the same day as our anniversary. Great! How can I tell her that I won't be here? I hope she forgives me for this.'

"Well, that and some other thing."

"Oh right, it's our one month anniversary," Val said as she gave him another smile.

Tyler tried to smile back. _'Why does she have to look happy right now?'_

"Do you have anything in mind?" Val asked.

"Actually, I'm here to tell you that I can't make it."

"Make it to what? We don't even have plans yet."

"I won't be here with you."

Val's mood suddenly shifted, and Tyler could immediately.

"Why not?" Val asked. "Are you moving?"

"Of course not," Tyler said. "I'm going to Europe."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"But why?"

"My dad wants me to come with him."

"Oh, your dad."

"He told me that he wanted to spend some quality time with him," Tyler began explaining. "He doesn't have any another time, and he even bought the tickets already. I didn't want to hurt him."

"I see," Val said as she turned to enter her house. "I hope you have fun then."

"Val, wait," Tyler said while he grabbed her hand. "I know that this means a lot to you. It means a lot to me, too, but my dad will be leaving soon. I have to be honest that I told him that I would go before thinking about you, but I did think about you, and making this decision is the hardest thing that I ever had to do. I hope you understand."

"Tyler, if it means so much to you, then go," she told him. "I don't want you to stay knowing that you'd rather be spending time with him. That would be selfish of me."

"And I don't want to go knowing that you're upset."

"I'm not. I'm just disappointed, that's all."

"I guess there's nothing left to say."

"I guess not."

"Will you see me off tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Val said before entering her house and leaving Tyler alone on her front porch.

"Thanks a lot, Dad," he said before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"FLIGHT NUMBER 437 WILL BE BOARDING IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!"

"Tyler!" called his dad. "Are you ready?"

"Yea, I'm ready," he said. "The school knows already, right?"

"I called them. Your mom will pick up your homework."

"Great!" he said.

He looked around when he spotted his mom, William, Alex, and Hank.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you off," said Hank. "It's going to be weird not having you around."

"Well, I'll see you in a week," said Tyler.

"Good bye, honey," said his teary-eyed mother as she enveloped him in a hug.

"Mom," he said as he broke the embrace. "It's only for a week."

"We're going to miss you at the house, Tyler," said William.

"I'm sure you will."

"And we'll miss you at the station while you're gone," Alex said. "Come back soon."

"I will."

"FLIGHT NUMBER 437 WILL BE BOARDING IN EXACTLY EIGHT MINUTES!"

"I guess we better get going, son," Matthew Connell said as he headed for the gate.

"I'll see you guys," Tyler said as he followed his dad.

Tyler halted on his steps as he went back to Hank.

"Could you do me a favor and give this to Val on her birthday?" 

"Why don't you give it to her yourself?" Hank said as he pointed somewhere behind him.

Tyler turned and saw Val heading towards him.

"I thought you're not coming," said Tyler.

"I couldn't let you leave without saying good bye first," she said. "We didn't really end in good terms yesterday. I didn't want you to feel down while on this trip."

"I'll really miss you," Tyler said as he gave her a hug. "I know it's only for a week or so, but I'll still miss you anyway."

"I'll miss you too," Val said as she tried hard not to cry. 

"I have something for you," he said. "You can open it now or later, but it's a present that I had with me for quite some time now. I'm sorry for not being able to give it to you in the right occasion."

"Thanks," Val said as she accepted the gift.

"Thank you for coming," Tyler smiled at her. "I really appreciate it! You mean the world to me, and I'm glad that you don't hate me or anything. I'll call you everyday."

"FINAL CALL FOR FLIGHT 437!"

"That's me," he said as he picked up his carry-on luggage. "See you in a week."

"Until then," she said before giving him one last kiss. 

After Tyler was out of sight, Val felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Hank asked.

"Yea, I'm fine," Val said. "I'll be OK."

They watched as Tyler's plane took off.

"Bye," Val whispered.

They all walked away, with Hank, Val, and Alex remaining for a few more seconds.

"Well, he's gone, for now," Val said as she walked away.

"Don't worry, Val," Hank said as he followed her. "He'll be back."

"I hope you're right, Hank," Alex said while still looking out the window. "Let's hope so. All we can do is hope."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

That was twenty pages long. What did you guys think? As most of you know, I'll be gone for 2 weeks. I'll see you when I return. If I gain access to a computer, I'll try going online. Anyway, thank you for reading up to this part. I'll be back before you know it. ~ Scarlet182


	9. Mind Games

MindGames __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. Thanks for the reviews and everyone who've read this so far. And for the record, I don't own the Airline Company or movie used in this fic.

****

Parent Trap

Mind games

Clouds are the things you see in the sky from down below. They come in many shapes and sizes of mostly white and gray. Just staring at them creates different objects to be seen --- a pirate ship, a huge rabbit, or a funny face. They bring you shade from the sun and bring you rain at other times. Yep. They're just as peaceful as they seem.

"Except when you're in them," Tyler thought as he buckled his seatbelt once again due to the turbulence. "Dad? How many more hours until we land?"

"We have three more hours left. Why? Are you excited to see Big Ben?"

"Big who?"

"You know that giant clock tower in London."

"Oh that Ben," Tyler said with fake enthusiasm. "Sure, but isn't the bell Big Ben and not the clock?"

"Who cares?" Matthew Connell said with a yawn. "Why don't you go to sleep?" 

"I'll try."

Tyler looked outside his window --- only clouds and the Pacific Ocean in sight. He continued to look outside as the horizon became darker and darker. _'Must be the time difference.'_ He was beginning to fall asleep when a noise from the speaker came on.

"WE WILL BE SHOWING ANOTHER MOVIE: BRING IT ON! IT STARS KIRSTEN DUNST. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION. ON BEHALF OF UNITED AIRLINES, THANK YOU FOR FLYING WITH THE FRIENDLY SKIES."

Tyler sighed. He was so close to finally being able to sleep when they interrupt him with an announcement of showing a film. He didn't quite hear what the movie was. Lazily opening his eyes, he directed his gaze to the screen.

"I'm sexy, I'm cute, I'm popular to boot. I'm bitchin', great hair, the boys all love to stare…"

Tyler groaned as he saw a bunch of cheerleaders --- guys and girls alike, parade in front of the screen. 

"Of all the movies, you're showing us this!" Tyler said a little too loudly.

That earned him glares from several of the passengers. For the first time in three hours, he realized that a group of cheerleaders riding the plane with him. _'Maybe they're going to camp or a competition.'_

"Do you have a problem with that?" one girl said. "Because, you know like, we can beat you up for it."

"Of course not," Tyler replied. "It just reminded me of my girlfriend, that's all."

"And that's not good because…?"

"I'm not saying it's not good," Tyler reasoned with her. "I just miss her."

He sank lower in his seat as he looked outside once again. He checked his watch, which was still in Kingsport time.

"Nine-thirty. I wonder what Val's doing…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What do you think he's doing right now?" Val asked Brooke.

Brooke sighed and turned to his sister.

"For the tenth time, Val, go to sleep already. He's not going to call."

"Why not?"

"And I thought you were the smart one," Brooke said as she got up from her bed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Tyler left about four hours ago. If things went according to plan, he's still on the plane right now. He's probably sleeping, like what you should be doing right now."

"Maybe he's not sleeping…"

"Who cares? Val, you have school tomorrow. Tomorrow's Friday. Friday is a big day. Big day as in a Spanish test, an Algebra exam, a Cheerleading practice, and the nighttime shift at the station. And don't forget that you have the inventory this week as well."

"How did you know all that?" Val asked at Brooke's knowledge of her personal life.

"I'm your sister. I live in the same house. We reside in the same room. I'm Brooke. What else do you need to know?"

"I guess that's about it," Val smiled. "Good night, Brooke."

"That's the most logical thing you said all night."

"GOOD NIGHT, BROOKE."

"Okay, I'll take that as a hint. See you in the morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Second by second went by, followed by passing minutes, dwindling hours, and finally the weekend has arrived. It was nine o'clock on a Saturday morning, and just like any regular Saturday, the squad was expected to be present. The moment Val entered the building with a box of doughnuts and some coffee in hand Alex greeted her.

"Good morning, Val! You're early today."

"Good morning to you too, except I always come to the station around this time."

"Hmm, I must have arrived late then."

"You must have," Val laughed as she entered the main room.

Hank and Jamie were already there, sleeping and watching TV, respectively. Val carefully put the box and coffee on the counter as she headed for the locker room to change. She deliberately opened the box, and it only took a few seconds for it to have its effects.

"Hank, wake up!" Jamie said as something in the air caught his senses.

"Five more minutes, Dad," Hank mumbled as he rolled and fell down the floor. "Now I'm awake."

"Do you smell that?" 

"Smell what?"

"Honey dip, chocolate dip, cinnamon, glazed, jelly and Bavarian crème."

"Is Val here already?"

"Yea, and that only means one thing."

"FOOD!" they both said as they raced for the box.

Val emerged from the locker room minutes later and found herself only two doughnuts left out of the possible twelve.

"Thanks for leaving me some this time," Val told them.

"Anytime," Jamie said. "Thanks for the food."

"And the coffee," added Hank. "You really didn't have to."

"But you're glad I did, didn't you?" she said before taking a bite off of her doughnut. "I had the extra money. I only bought the coffee this time because Brooke's not here yet. She's the only one who could make good coffee."

"I have to agree with that," said Hank. "Hey, did Tyler call?"

"He didn't call yet. I called the hotel he was staying in and there was a message left for me though."

"What did it say?" asked Jamie. "Is he having fun?"

"It really didn't say much. It said he went to the Tower of London, visited Westminster Abbey, and he looked around the Museum of Victoria and Albert."

"What about his dad?" asked Hank. "Did he go with him?"

"The note didn't really say.'"

"He seems like he's having a lot of fun," Jamie said as he finished his coffee.

The alarm suddenly went off and all three headed towards the ambulance, leaving all the food behind. Alex came in the room in hopes of catching them.

"It's a false alarm," he said but was too late for they already left. "Well, more food for me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Tyler looked at his watch once again. Four forty-five in the afternoon. _'Val should be home.'_ Dialing the number he all knew too well, he waited for Val to pick the phone up. Well, not before going through the operator for a long distance call. The phone rang three times before the answering machine answered him.

"Hey Val! Guess who? No, it's not Tom Cruise. I'll give you a hint. I'm much more good-looking than Tom."

Tyler reviewed his words before continuing.

"Oh wait. You're probably one of the millions of girls who think he's the hottest guy on Earth. Well, I was just kidding with the whole 'looks' thing. I mean, I don't really look a lot better or as good as Tom. I mean, I'm probably not even close. Wait, I'm babbling."

Tyler paused once again before going on.

"Um, I'm going to see Ben the bell on the clock tower today. I know it's commonly known as the Big Ben, but I'm striving for originality here so bear with me. You're probably going to say that I wasn't even close to original."

Tyler laughed a little. He could literally hear Val talking to him, except that she really wasn't there to talk with him. Just then he realized that the machine cut him off. One more time, he called the Lanier's house.

"It's me again. I got cut off there. Oh yea, I know I said that I'd call everyday, but I didn't get a chance to call yesterday because I thought you were still awake because I was awake and then I realized that I was six hours ahead of you and then you were still asleep or at work or at school then so I didn't call yesterday so sorry," he halted briefly to catch his breath. "I should really talk to Jamie. He could give me advice on my grammar because I probably lost you there on whatever I was talking about. Well, that was just a long way of saying sorry for not calling the other day."

Once again, there was a pause.

"So I'll call you later or tomorrow. I'll be Italy then. I totally forgot that it's still morning there. I hope you're having fun. I miss you so much. Bye."

The moment he put the phone down, Mr. Connell burst into the room with his briefcase.

"Hey Ty!" he greeted. "What have you been up to?"

"Not much. I went to Hyde Park. I saw Princess Di's home. I went down Oxford Street and did some shopping. I went on a Double Decker. It was a pretty interesting day."

"That sounds great," he commented, although Tyler got the feeling that he wasn't even listening.

"How was your day, Dad?"

"My day? Well, we talked about our firm. I had a couple of business meetings. I had lunch with Larry Brunson. Do you remember him?"

"I don't even think I know him."

"He's one of your godfathers. I can't believe you don't know him."

"Well, that usually happens when someone doesn't keep in touch," Tyler replied. _'And I'm not only talking about him either.'_

"Well, where did you have lunch?"

"I just bought some food at some store. I walked around. Ate with some birds who happened to follow me around."

"You sound like you had fun. I'm surprised you didn't get lost."

__

'Fun?' Tyler thought. _'How could you say it was fun? I thought this was a father-and-son-bonding trip? While you were having lunch with my supposedly godfather, I was eating a piece of pretzel with a bunch of pigeons asking me for food.'_

"Well, you got to love those maps," he tried to smile. "Listen, I was wondering if we could have an afternoon tea. It's one of the famous tourist activities around here. Someone told me that the clotted cream and jam on scones is really good. It would be a good time to talk and catch up on things."

"I'd love to, but I have a business agenda then."

"You said the last business thing you had to do was the one earlier this morning."

"Things change. You can learn to adjust, can you?"

"I guess," he said disappointedly. "How about tonight? We can take a walk from Covent Garden to Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus. The lady from the main desk said that these places are safe. It would be a nice time to talk then."

"Look," he started. "Tyler, I'm really busy right now, okay? And by tonight I'll be so tired that I'd be lying down on my bed until the next sunrise. This business is really important to me. We still have Italy and France. We have plenty of time to do that nonsense then. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run."

"But you just came back."

"I had to change my tie at least. I can't go out wearing the same tie over and over again. Well, I'm running late. I'll see you tonight or tomorrow or whatever. Bye."

"Bye Dad," he sighed as he picked up his hotel key and left as well. "I hope you're having fun as much as I am."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riiiiiiiiiiing!!!

Hank woke up startled by his alarm clock. The weekend totally drew all the energy out of him. Whoever thought they would get twice as many calls. Then again they were missing one crucial member in their squad. Hank reached out his hand to turn off the alarm, and it was not an easy thing to do when his head was buried in his pillow. Finally getting a hold of the alarm, he used his fingers to search for the off button. After a minute or so, he was still unsuccessful. Reaching the end of his rope, Hank intentionally dropped the clock to the floor. Silence followed the loud crash.

"That's what you get for not shutting up," he said before finally getting up.

The words usually don't mean anything to him, but it did. He recalled where "not shutting up" brought him, and for some reason, he was starting to picture the dead clock with his face on it. Shaking his head, he looked at the clock once again and put it back on the table. 

"This isn't a great way at all to start Monday morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, fellas!" yelled General McLemore to his young cadets as they ran around the track. "Hustle! This is a great way to start Monday morning."

Hank just continued to run. He figured it was no use to talk and reason with him again. At least not right now. That's probably one good reason why he was ahead among all the other kids.

"Are you still dating his daughter?" asked the person beside him.

Hank just nodded. One key thing about running is to avoid talking at all costs to save your oxygen.

"Why? She's the devil's daughter."

Hank looked at him, and for once, he spoke.

"Mind your own business. Besides, I like her."

"Well, I don't think this is anything serious so you can easily break up with her. There's still time left."

Hank stopped for a brief second before catching up to him.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"You said you liked her. If it was really serious, then you should have said 'love.'"

"Love? As in big commitment?"

"If you want to put it that way. Why? Are you a commitment phobic?"

"How should I know? I never had one, except for school and my EMT job and for my parents."

"Then I guess you might be one. Word of advice, just dump her."

"But I like her. And I didn't ask you for any advice. Who are you anyway?"

"You can call me Scruples."

"What kind of name is that?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Hank."

"How did you know my name? And Hank is a fine name, thank you very much."

"It has a powerful meaning: ruler of the home; lord of the manor…but you don't seem to carry those qualities, especially around the him."

Hank continued to run, but what Scruples said bothered him. He stopped and turned around but he was nowhere in sight.

"Where did he go?" 

"HANK! Get moving or else!"

Hank continued to run on the general's orders. Despite loosing seven and a half seconds, he was still way in the lead than the other runners. He still continued to look around for Scruples, but he was still nowhere to be seen.

"That was a really odd fellow. Come to think of it, he kind of looked like me. Nah. I'm being delirious. I don't have a twin."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie arrived in the station with a few more minutes to spare. He just came from another competition at Forest Green High School. Another victory went to his team. Although he wasn't the hero of the competition this time, which the honor belonged to Vladimir Eidelman, who was their science guy, he still had a blast. He entered the EMS building in high spirits, but the greeting he got rather threw him off. Some people just stared at him, while others yelled comments about his attire.

"Looking good, Waite," yelled one of his fellow EMTs.

Jamie nodded. He has been walking through these halls for a long time now and no one ever said anything about his clothes.

"What happened to you?" asked Alex. "You look like a young president."

That's when Jamie realized that he was still wearing his suit from the competition.

"Oh, I just came from the Academic Bowl. I'll change right away."

"Well, you clean up very nicely. I never thought in a million years that I would see you wearing one of these things. I didn't even think you owned one of these. How many do you have?"

"That's for me to know, and you not to," Jamie smiled before heading to the main room.

"I'm actually getting used to seeing you wearing that," Val said. "You look like James Bond."

"Whoa, get your names straight. The name's Waite. James Waite," he said in a rather decent British accent and a striking pose. "Agent 008."

Val and Hank laughed.

"That was perfect, Jamie," Hank said. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Practice makes perfect, my friend, but let's just keep that knowledge between us."

"Jamie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Does the word 'scruples' mean anything to you?"

"Well, it could mean principles or ethics."

"Is that all?"

"Oh, and it could also mean conscience. You know, a sense of right and wrong. Why the sudden curiosity?"

"I think I talked to my conscience earlier."

"What are you talking about?" asked Val.

"I was running around the track and this guy talked to me. He said some really serious stuff and they're really bugging me even now."

"Maybe it was just one of your boot camp mates," said Jamie as he headed for the locker room to change. "What was his name?"

"He just told me to call him Scruples."

"What kind of name is that?" inquired Jamie.

"That's exactly what I said," Hank exclaimed. "Anyway, we continued talking until I decided to increase my pace. When I turned around again, he disappeared."

"Maybe you just lost him," said Val.

"That's really hard to believe because we were way ahead of everyone. When I turned around, everyone was still way behind. And it was only for a split second."

"Maybe you were just delirious," said Jamie as he returned to the room. "Probably the lack of oxygen got to your head."

"The funny thing is, he looked highly identical to me. He was really weird. It was all weird."

"Maybe he got his weirdness from you because you definitely are one," said Jamie.

Hank threw two consecutive pillows at Jamie, but he missed him all two times.

"And you call yourself the star quarterback," Jamie taunted.

By now, Hank stood up and was chasing Jamie around with one pillow in hand.

"Val!" Jamie cried. "Help me!"

"You're 008," Val joked. "You should find your way out of this mess."

Jamie continued to run away from Hank with a few taunting words. Hank was about to throw the pillow at Jamie when the alarm went off.

"And Agent 008 escapes once again," Jamie laughed before heading to the ambulance with Val and Hank in tow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

Okay, so the last parts might have been pointless, but I had fun writing it anyway. I hope you liked this. It took me a while to finish, but it's finally done now. The next chapter should be up soon. Today is Tuesday, so the next chapter for 'Realization of Fate' should be up by tomorrow at the latest. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	10. Problems never end in a second

ProblemsNeverEndInASecond __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. I'm sorry this took long, but our Internet provider had some technical problems, and I couldn't access the net. Thanks to all that are still reading this story, especially last chapter because I don't think many did. This chapter is for you guys. And for the record, it's DST in Kingsport right now.

****

Parent Trap

Problems never end in a second

Tyler sat quietly in his room while looking outside the window. It was certainly a different view. They just arrived in Italy a few hours ago and now they were in Milan. The people were different for the most part. The language was indefinite to him. The setting was definitely not the same, yet the mood that surrounded him still remained. 

Just a few minutes after arriving at the hotel, Matthew Connell went out with some friends of his to talk about his business. Tyler was now beginning to think that this "vacation" was a business trip. He dismissed the thought to give his dad the benefit of a doubt. He promised Tyler that they would have time to talk without anyone to interrupt them. It would just be him, Tyler, and their hotel room.

It was ten in the evening in Italy, which means that it was three in the afternoon at Kingsport. Tyler grabbed the phone and proceeded to call Val, hoping to catch her this time. He was on the third day of his trip and he still didn't get to talk to her. _'At least I don't live this far from Val. Keeping a long distance relationship must be really hard.'_ The phone rang three times before someone picked it up.

"Hello?" said an unfamiliar voice from the other line. "This is Val's house."

"Is Val home?" 

"Sure thing. Val! Somebody is looking for you."

Tyler heard a short muffled conversation before hearing Val's voice.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "This is Val."

"It's so good to hear your voice again."

"Tyler?"

"The one and only."

"It's about time you called," she kidded.

"I called but you weren't home. Who was that girl anyway?"

"That was Jen. We're planning our fundraiser. And I remember your little monologue. It sure made Caitie and Brooke crack up."

"What? They heard that? How?"

"Well, Caitie came over, and I had to go to the kitchen, and then Brooke arrived and checked the phone for messages. And everything was history after that."

"Well that was a disaster. I should have known better than leave that message."

"I thought it was very sweet of you. And don't worry. I like you better than Tom."

"Gee thanks," he joked. "That makes me feel so much better."

"I miss you."

Tyler paused and for the first time in minutes, he remembered the reason why he called in the first place.

"I miss you too," he finally replied. "So how was your day?"

"It was all right. The same usual stuff happened. The only difference was that you weren't there, and it was so much more fun. It was a blast."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better or kick me while I'm down?"

"I was just kidding, but is everything all right with you?"

"Everything's great! I couldn't be any happier."

"Where's your dad? Are you in Italy now? How was London?"

"My dad's having a business dinner. I'm in Italy right now. London was an interesting place. I had fun going around the city."

"What did you and your dad do?"

"We did stuff. You know, stuff."

"I see, well, it's really great that we finally talked. I have to go though. We have to finish out planning before I leave for the station."

"Send my regards to everyone. I'll see you when I get back."

"Bye Tyler."

"Bye Val."

Tyler put down the phone, and once again he was alone in the room. Little did he know that it was going to remain that way for more than just a night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank just finished a grueling session of push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups under General Marshall McLemore's command. He had been under the training program for some time now. A positive side to the course was that it helped him stay in shape since football season was over. For the past few days, things have gone smoothly for him. At the beginning, it seemed like McLemore was on his case all the time, partly because he was dating his daughter and the fact that McLemore seemed to hate his guts.

Nowadays, Marshall was easy on him. At one point, to Hank's surprise, he gave him a pat on the back. If it was an act of approval or a small attempt to push him down, Hank declined to find out. He figured that he should be grateful for the past few days, but this sudden change of attitude scared him. The more mysterious the guy gets, the more dangerous he becomes. Marianne told him not to worry, but she wasn't convincing enough.

He liked her a lot, but can he really commit? It seemed like a simple feat to tell her that he loves her, but some things are easier said than done. His longest relationship with anyone besides Marianne was a week. Now they were almost going out for three weeks. He actually had fun when she was around. It wasn't like when he got together with Jasmine --- that ended a long time ago. 

Marianne was different, and now that it was a challenge to keep a relationship with her, Hank was more determined not to let her go. If only he wasn't fighting a battle with himself. Maybe "Scruples" had a point. Maybe he was a "commitment phobic." Just then Jamie came in the room, followed by Val.

"Hey Hank!" they both greeted as Jamie continued to talk to him. "Are we late?"

"You're just in time."

"Did we miss anything?"

"Nothing much happened between me thinking until you guys coming in the door."

"Is there anything we need to know?" asked Val. "Anything serious."

"Can I ask you two something?" 

"Sure," they both replied.

"Are you guys happy?"

"What do you mean?" asked Jamie.

"I mean, with Caitie and Tyler. You've told each other that you love them I suppose. Is everything great? No problems at all?"

"Everything's great with me and Caitie. We had a misunderstanding during our anniversary, but we worked it out. I'm having as much fun as I was when we were friends. We still are, just more, you know what I mean."

Hank nodded and looked at Val.

"I'm happy with Tyler. We were good friends before, but I guess I'm happier now. It's always good to know that there's someone out there that loves you as much as you love him or her. Our relationship is definitely good. For me, it sure beats being single."

"I have to agree with her on that last one," added Jamie. "Why the interrogation, Hank? Is everything all right with Marianne?"

"I'm just dealing with some relationship issues. That's all."

"Speaking of Marianne, some guy outside is looking for you. He said he knows her."

"Who is it?"

"I think his name is Jake," said Val. "I'm pretty sure it is."

"Jake McLemore!?! Marianne's brother is here to see me!?! Tell me you're kidding."

"Actually, you're right. It is Marianne's brother. I met him when Caitie and I slept over at their house."

"What are you going to do?" asked Jamie.

"I guess I have to go talk to him," he said as he headed outside the door. "Even if I end up with a black eye."

Hank went out the building, and as expected, Jake was outside waiting for him. Hank approached him slowly as Jake met him halfway.

"Hey Hank! I'm Jake McLemore."

"I know. You're Marianne's older brother."

"Well, I guess you know why I'm here."

"I really don't know why you're here, but whatever you want just say it because I'm on duty right now."

"Hank, I need to talk to you."

"Wh…wh…why? Why…why do you want to talk to me?"

"You're dating my younger and only sister. It's only natural."

"Why…why is it natural?" Hank said nervously even though he made no sense at all.

Jake just looked at Hank as though he was a crazed person.

"Are you all right? You don't look good."

"Why don't I look good? I mean, I'm fine. I'm just tired from practice with your dad."

"That's actually one reason…"

The alarm went off, cutting out whatever Jake was saying. Hank saw this opportunity as a means of escape.

"I better go," he said without saying anything about talking or seeing him again.

Hank hurried to the ambulance and went inside the driver's seat.

"What was that all about?" Jamie asked as the vehicle moved.

"He wanted to talk. You know, since it's natural."

"What did he say?" asked Val.

"We didn't get to talk. Thank God for this call."

"Luckily, he didn't beat you up."

"Thanks Jamie," Hank said as he turned right to a corner. "That's really comforting to know."

"Anytime, Hank," Jamie replied with a smile. "Anytime."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another school day ended once again. For Jamie, it was also moments before their next competition. He had to admit that it was really exciting. It wasn't a football game, but it was still fun. It was also one of the rare moments that Jamie would reveal the fact that he has some school spirit in him.

It was probably a once in a lifetime chance for him. No one expected for him to be one of the few students to represent Kingsport High School academically. He would have expected Tyler and Hank to be the one in his shoes. It was a risky move regarding his reputation, but in the end, reputation really had nothing to do with his hesitation to join the team. Perhaps it was the fear of failing and not being able to deliver. 

Even his teachers had mentioned in one way or another that he was a disappointment. He usually brushed off the comments and said that he couldn't care less. It was hurtful to be perfectly honest. And it's not good for the moral when the principal of the school sees him as nothing but a "good-for-nothing slacker" as well. These days he wasn't up Jamie's face all the time as he usually did. I guess that's one advantage for being one of the brains in the school.

Alex was the first one to really challenge him to do better. Now he was a certified EMT. Mrs. Lowry was the other person who believed in him and made him do his best. She wasn't his favorite teacher to begin with, and she wasn't fond of him in return, but they developed a mutual respect for each other.

Jamie walked across the football field towards the bleachers where a bunch of his friends were hanging out, including Caitie. The brief stroll amused him as he was mistaken more than once in less than two minutes as a teacher or a colleague. He was wearing a burgundy long sleeved shirt with black tie and black pants. This time, however, he was wearing his leather jacket. He looked like one of the coaches in the school. He only had a few minutes before the competition starts, which is held at the school's auditorium.

"Hey fellas!" Jamie greeted his friends as he moved next to Caitie.

"Whoa," said Kenny. "You're not turning 'overachiever' on us now, are you? I see you wearing the clothing of the dark side."

"Not in this lifetime," replied Jamie. "I have a competition in a few minutes. I was hoping you guys can come and see me do my stuff."

"Of course we're coming," said Caitie. "Right guys?"

"Why are we coming again?" asked Brianne. 

"Because we want to see Jamie beat the hell out of those overachieving preps," said Kenny. 

"Come on, guys," said Jamie as he and Caitie began to leave. "We're going to be late."

"We're coming, Mr. Vocab," said Brianne and Kenny as they followed the two.

"Now guys, remember to act normal for a change," said Jamie as a joke. "You remember those days."

"We'll try, but we can't promise you anything," laughed Kenny.

"Don't worry, Jamie," said Caitie. "We'll root for you."

Jamie smiled and nodded, but something tells him that worrying is not a bad idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The competition started with Mr. Carlson as the host of the event. The opposing school was Dover High School.

"We're starting this competition with a category we'd like to call a 'Double Take.' Our two subjects will be science and English. The first part will require the science delegate of each team to answer the question correctly. If a team is successful, the English delegate will then try to spell the word. If he or she misses, the other team will have the chance to spell the word, unless the other team missed the first question. Was that clear enough?"

Both teams just nodded and the competition began.

"Here's the question: What substance causes red blood cells to clump?"

The Kingsport team buzzed in.

"Hemagglutinin," replied Vladimir Eidelman.

"That is correct."

There was applause in the crowd before Carlson spoke.

"Now Mr. Waite," Carlson began before looking at Jamie in the eye. "Spell 'hemagglutinin.'"

"Hemagglutinin. H-e-m-a-g-l-u-….can I start all over again?"

Carlson asked the judges for approval before giving Jamie the nod.

"Hemagglutinin. H-e-m-a-g-g-l-u-t-i-n-i-n. Hemagglutinin"

"That is correct," replied Carlson.

An applause was once again heard from the crowd, but one cheer was from someone Jamie knew all too well.

"Yeah Jamie!" cried Kenny. "Dover preps suck!"

A few rounds of laughter emerged the crowd. Mr. Carlson wasn't very pleased from his facial expression. Jamie dropped his head on the table. 

"This is going to be a long," he muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the third time, Tyler found himself sitting alone in a hotel room. Mr. Connell was at the main desk getting some information about tourist spots. It had only been the fourth time that Tyler visited France; the second time in Paris. Matthew Connell was loaded with money, and like the other five-star hotels that Tyler and his dad stayed in while in Europe, their hotel in Paris wasn't any different. Their room was huge, directly parallel to the infamous Eiffel Tower. It was at the pinnacle of the building, so they obviously had a great view of most of Paris itself. Everything about it was perfect.

They only had a few more days before the so-called "father-and-son-bonding" trip was over. For the most part of the trip, there hasn't been any father-and-son-bonding happening. Tyler looked at the mini-calendar sitting on one of the tables. Val's birthday was in less than two days, not to mention their anniversary. A part of him was regretting the fact of ever going to Europe in the first place. It seemed as if his dad wasn't even there.

"Hey son," said Mr. Connell as he got back in the room. "You want to go out?"

"It's already ten-thirty, Dad."

"So? Paris has a lot to offer at ten-thirty."

"Like what?"

"Clubs, clubs, and clubs. Unlike back home, you can go to some clubs and actually get to drink for a change."

"No thanks. I'm not interested, and I don't drink."

"What do you want to do then?"

"How about if we walk around town and talk?"

"Talk? That's boring."

"Well, that's basically the only thing we haven't done since this trip started."

"Why don't we go somewhere else? Anywhere you want. We can buy stuff. I'll give you anything you want. The clubs here are great."

"I just want to talk, Dad. You said we'd be able to have time and talk."

"How about if I make you a deal? Let's go to a club. Let's have a drink. You can have a soda or whatever you want. I'll buy you stuff. Anything you want. We'll go to the Eiffel Tower. Let's have fun. You know, not just sit and talk."

"How about the talk?"

"We'll do that tomorrow."

"Are you sure you don't have any business plans? No meetings?"

"I'm positive."

"What are we waiting for?" Tyler said as he grabbed his jacket. "Let's have fun!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie came to the station along with Caitie. The competition just ended, and Kingsport won by a point. It had been out of the ordinary, with Kenny criticizing and putting down the opposing, not to mention cheering Jamie on more ways than one. 

"Jamie…what are you doing here?" asked Alex. "You're not on duty."

"I just wanted to see the guys," he replied while nodding towards the main room. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, but try not to distract them in case there's a call."

"I'll try."

"By the way, did you guys win?"

"By a point," answered Caitie. "Jamie missed A question though."

"Only ONE," added Jamie. "Those were hard words. I mean, Alex, do you even know what 'terpsichore' means?"

"It's an art of dancing."

"You don't even know…wait, how did you know that? You don't dance."

"Why would you say that?" asked Alex curiously.

"You're Alex. You're like a…a robot. You're boring. You're strict. You never have fun."

"Well, you'll be surprised what I do Saturday nights if you think I'm that stiff."

"Like what?"

"That's for me to know and you not to," Alex replied as he repeated Jamie's words from the other day. "I'm not the only one who keeps secrets."

"I'm bound to find out," Jamie told him. "You better watch out."

"I think I will."

Alex gave a small laugh before leaving Jamie and Caitie.

"Hey, my fellow EMT's," he greeted as the two looked up from their paperwork.

"Hey Jamie!" greeted Val. "Caitie, what are you doing here? And I should ask you the same thing, Waite."

"We're just visiting," said Jamie for the both of them. "Any tough calls?"

"There's been a drought of calls lately," replied. "Not that I'm complaining. It's bad enough that we're missing one person and you're off duty for the day. We're off duty in a few minutes though."

"How was the match?" asked Val.

"We won by a point. It was insane. Kenny kept standing in the middle of the room and shouting either cheers to our team or insults to the other."

"I wish I had been there," Hank said. "It's so boring here."

"It doesn't help that you're with Lanier either," Caitie said as she smiled at Val.

"Very funny," Val stated and smiled in return. 

"Where's Marianne?" asked Caitie.

"She's probably studying at home," replied Hank. "We never get to talk much these days since I'm always with her dear father during school hours."

"Have you figured out whatever your problem was?" asked Jamie.

"No, not yet, but I'm getting there…hopefully."

"Well, I hope you solve it soon," said Jamie as he began to get up. "We better go. I have to get her home, and my dad is probably throwing me a surprise party."

Jamie gave Hank and Caitie a knowing look as the word "surprise party" came up.

"It's probably from winning today, right?"

"Let's hope not," Jamie said. "The last thing I need is for him to bug me and make me tell him that he was right in the first place."

Hank and Val just nodded as Jamie and Caitie bid their farewell. They both got back to their work when a soft knock came from the door. Val looked up and saw who it was, followed by Hank who immediately stood up.

"I better go," she said as she quickly grabbed her things and dashed for the door. "Bye."

Hank moved from the couch and motioned him to sit. _'What the hell is he doing here? He's going to beat me up. I saw this on television. First there's the talk, and then there's the big bruise on the face.'_

"Jake," he said before regaining his calm. "What brings you here?"

"We need to talk,"

"Uh huh," Hank managed to choke out. _'Here we go…'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

That was it for this chapter. I believe there will be two or three more chapters left. Don't forget to review! "Realization of Fate" should be out soon. I hope you guys liked it. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	11. Leaving before departure

LeavingBeforeDeparture __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. Also, I don't own any of the products used in this chapter.

A/N: I didn't get many reviews last time on chapter 10, so I hope you guys will review this time. I can't really make a threat to discontinue or stop writing until I get at least a certain amount of reviews, because I want finish this story so bad and start writing NOEbY #5. Anyway, if you read this and didn't review, thanks for reading it. I hope you like it, and to those who did review, I'm glad to know that you liked the story so far. Well, enough of that. Let's get to the rest of the story…

****

Parent Trap

Leaving before departure

Hank stood up and started pacing around the room. In this frantic situation, Hank's anxiety got the best of him and his legs just wouldn't stop moving. Jake followed his movement like an owl, eyes wide open and fully alert. He was waiting until Hank settled down and actually acted like he was ready to talk, but apparently, Hank was nowhere near stopping. Losing his patience, Jake finally spoke up.

"Hank, do you mind? I'm trying to talk to you here."

"Sorry," Hank said as he settled on the opposite side of the couch. "So, what did you want to talk about again?"

"I think you know why I'm here, Hank."

"Actually, I don't."

"Don't be stupid. You know this is about Marianne."

"What about her?" Hank asked nervously. "Is she all right? How is she? Does she hate me? Do you hate me?"

"Slow down, Hank. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Really?"

"Far from, although my dad probably wouldn't mind that."

"What?!?"

"Kidding," Jake laughed. "Why are you so edgy today?"

"I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who's here to talk."

"How are things with you and my dad?"

"Like day and night."

"And Marianne?"

"I didn't do anything."

"I know that, but how are things between you two."

"Oh, well, things are fine, I guess. We never got to talk as much recently since your dad keeps me busy most of the time."

"Do you like my sister?"

"I like Marianne like a football," Hank replied as Jake gave him a confused look. "You know what I mean. I like her a lot, although more than I like a football."

"Hank, you should quit talking while you're ahead."

"Okay, so what's the point of this?"

"Does my dad intimidate you?"

"Not at all," he said, but Jake looked unconvinced. "Actually, maybe a tad bit, but a little bigger."

"How much bigger?"

"He scares the heck out of me."

"Why?"

"Why?!? Why are you asking me? You live with him."

"So?"

"So?!? You were at the dinner table when he constantly brought me down and made a fool of me in front of everyone. He hates me."

"Do you love Marianne?"

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Answer the question, Hank."

"Why?"

"Because if you hurt her, I'm going to haunt you down."

"Why would I hurt her? I care about Marianne. If I hurt her, I'd haunt myself down."

A moment of silence filled the room. Hank waited for Jake to respond, but he got none.

"Why are you here, Jake?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Did anyone send you here?"

"I came here on my own will. No one was involved."

"What is this all about?"

"Hank, I like you."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he moved away from the couch.

"Not in that way, but as a person," he smiled. "You seem like a great guy. Marianne has told me a lot about you. I love my sister a lot, and I don't want her to get hurt."

"Why do you think she'd get hurt?"

"Because she's been hurt before."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Words of advice," Jake started to say as he stood up. "Don't let my dad intimidate you. Just be yourself. You know what you want. And finally, we never had this conversation."

"What conversation?"

"Exactly," Jake said before he left Hank alone in the room.

Hank waited until he heard Jake's car leave the parking lot before he gathered his things. As this was going on, he pondered on the things that Jake had discussed with him. Once again, the word love came in the picture. It had been on his mind for quite some time. _'How did I get myself into this?'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler woke up with a start from his bed. His head was still spinning, though not from a hangover. Nonetheless, he was still tired. The night before was probably the only night that they spent together. They went to clubs, to the Eiffel Tower, and even shopped. It was fun to say the least. Tyler's dad even gave him a boatload of money.

He squinted his eyes as the light became brighter, now fully aware that he was facing the window. Slowly, he turned to the other side to wake up his dad, but he only found a couple of pillows and a blanket on the other bed. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, he got up and walked around the room to see if anybody was there.

After a full-scale search around the room, he found no one. _'Maybe he's just downstairs.'_ With that, Tyler grabbed his towel and took a shower. A few minutes later, he was out and dressed up.

"Dad! Are you here?"

Tyler was now starting to worry. He was certain that his dad went home with him last night, and he said that he didn't have any meetings or business agendas. The thought of business meetings stuck on his mind, but he continued to go over his stuff. Then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a note with a few francs.

"Tyler, I'm on a meeting right now. I left some money. Buy and do whatever you want. I'll see you later. Dad."

Out of anger, Tyler crumpled the paper and threw it on the floor. _'He promised, but I guess he can't keep them…like always.'_ He looked at the calendar once again and then to the pile of money his dad left. Without any thought or consideration, he picked up the phone.

"L'information?" Tyler said in the best French accent that he could possibly do.

"Oui, Monsieur."

"Combien du billet d'avion au Concorde?" he asked as he read the French-English dictionary he borrowed from Hank.

"À quelle ville, Monsieur?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie quietly opened the front door of his house, but his attempt only made a loud and long creaking noise. In an instant, he heard footsteps coming towards him.

"Jamie? Is that you?"

"No, I'm his evil twin," Jamie retorted as he headed towards his room.

"But you don't live here."

"Dad!" Jamie whined. "You know it's me so cut it out."

"Hey, congratulations on your win today."

"How did you know? You didn't come. Did it surprise you that I won? Or did you think that I would fail again?"

"Jamie, you know I'm proud of you."

"Really? Or is this another one of your reverse psychology crap?"

"Jamie, you really don't need to use that tone with me."

"Okay, Dad, fine. Just let me go to my room, and I'll leave you alone."

Mr. Waite didn't say a thing, so Jamie continued his climb to his room. He knew that he was going a bit overboard about his actions towards his dad, but his mind got the best of him. He closed his door slowly and sat on his bed. 

"I probably hurt the old man's feelings," Jamie whispered to himself. "I'm such an idiot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler gathered all his belongings and put them in his luggage. He saw a pad of paper and proceeded to write a note, but his dad came though the door at the very same second.

"What are you doing, Ty? We're leaving in three days."

"Well, count me out," he stated as he headed towards the door.

"What are you talking about?"

"If that wasn't clear enough for you, I'm leaving."

"Why? What brought this up?"

"You. You told me that we're going on this trip to spend some time together, but you know what, that didn't happen."

"What about last night?"

"Last night, we just went outside and had fun, but that wasn't enough."

"What else do you want? I can give you anything. Your wish is my command."

"I want to go home. Thanks for the money."

"What is your problem? What is this sudden resentment towards me?"

"You said that we'd be able to talk today. Then I woke up, and you were gone."

"I left a note, didn't I?"

"A lousy note doesn't cut it. You said you had no business agenda for today. You said you were positive."

"I said I was positive, but I didn't say that I was sure. Come on, Tyler. Things change."

"If you were here for business, why did you take me here in the first place?"

"To spend some time with you."

"That's funny, because we never did much of that. Why did you take me here? There must be a catch. What do you want from me?"

"Okay, fine. I want you to move to California and live with me."

"What?"

"I want you to live with me in L.A."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place? You could've asked me back in Kingsport."

"But you seemed so content there."

"I this what this trip is all about? A bribe to get me to live with you?"

"Tyler, I can give you anything you want. You'll be happy with me in L.A. Your mom can't give you what I can. Imagine a life with no worries. We'll be going on vacation anytime. Anywhere. And you'll have all the money you want. Now tell me what you want, and I guarantee that I can give it to you."

"Unfortunately, what I want from you is something you can't afford."

"And what would that be?"

"Time."

"I have time. You want time? I'll give it to you. Come on. Sit down. We'll talk."

Tyler looked at him skeptically. He was about to give him a chance and sit down beside him when his cell phone rang.

"Is that business again?"

"Tyler, I have to answer this. It's important."

"If you answer that phone, I'm leaving."

Mr. Connell just laughed and answered the call. Tyler shook his head and carried his luggage.

"Goodbye Dad. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a birthday to catch."

"Tyler!" he called out as he turned off his phone. "I'll put the phone down."

The phone rang again, and Tyler paused to see what he was going to do. 

"This is Matthew Connell," he answered the phone

"See you back in Kingsport, Dad. Enjoy your stay."

After saying his last words, Tyler closed the door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie, Hank, Val, and Brooke were still at the station. Alex left early for the day, so the station was a bit chaotic than the usual.

"This is a nice day to spend my birthday," Val said.

"Well, at least we're done now," Hank said. "I got to run though. I have a date with Marianne. Bye Val."

"Bye Hank."

"I have to go as well," said Jamie. "I need to go to the store and get something for my mom."

"Oh, okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

And then there were two. Brooke and Val cleaned up before they headed for home.

"Happy Birthday Val!"

"Thanks Brooke," she said as she went in the car. "At least someone remembered."

"I'm really sorry that Tyler couldn't be here."

"Me too," she said as she turned on the engine.

In less than ten minutes, they arrived at their house as Val parked her car on the driveway.

"I am so tired. I just want to go to my room and sleep."

"Whatever," Brooke said. "Now could you please open the door. I need to go to the bathroom."

Val opened the door, unsuspicious of anything ahead of her.

"SURPRISE!!!"

Val took a step back as she saw everyone in front her. Her parents were there, including Hank, Marianne, Jamie, Caitie, and even Alex.

"You guys!" she cried as Caitie gave her a hug. "You didn't have to do this."

"But you're glad we did, don't you?" Jamie said as he came over and gave her a hug as well.

"I don't know what to say."

"How about a thank you?" said her parents as they gave her a kiss. "Happy Birthday, Val."

"Thanks Mom…Dad."

Val turned around and saw Brooke with a smile on her face.

"Going to the bathroom, huh?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Whose idea was this?"

"Caitie and Hank came up with the idea."

Val looked around the place was fully decorated. There were streamers and balloons and everyone was wearing a party hat, even Jamie. She had to admit that it clashed with his black pants and leather jacket. The party food was on the table, as well as the cake. The presents were in the living room.

"Hey Val!"

"Marianne!" she cried as she thanked her. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Of course you didn't," she laughed. "That's why it's a surprise."

"Of course. How are things with Hank?"

"We're okay. Why?"

"Just asking," she replied without mentioning Jake's little visit.

"Well, happy birthday. Enjoy your party."

"Thanks."

"Come on, people!" Hank called out. "Let's eat!"

Everyone came to the table and helped themselves with some food. Val, Caitie, and Marianne were having their own conversation when someone came over to Val.

"Happy Birthday!" he greeted as Val turned around.

"Thanks Alex. It means so much to me that you came. I thought you forgot."

"Well, you thought wrong. Hank told me about this a few days ago."

"Well, thanks for coming."

"It's my pleasure. I have to leave now however."

"Why so soon?"

"I have an early appointment tomorrow with the Mayor."

"Oh…okay. Thanks for the present."

"I just hope you'll like it."

Alex left, but the party went on. The music was blaring from the stereo, but the ring of the phone was still quite audible.

"I'll get it," Brooke said. "Hello. This is the Lanier's residence. This is Brooke… Okay… I get the point… Sounds good… Be on time… Great! …I'll see you then. Bye!"

"Who was that?" asked Mrs. Lanier.

"That was Nick. He's coming over later."

"Does his mom know about this?"

"I think she knows by now."

"Okay."

Brooke followed her into the living and went over to where Val and the rest of the girls are. Jamie and Hank were still eating, while Mr. and Mrs. Lanier were already starting to clean up. Time passed and the opening of the gifts began. 

"Who's this from?"

"I think it's from me," Hank said.

Val opened it and got a T-shirt similar to Tyler's and Hank's. It stated: Cheerleading is life. The rest are just details.

"Thanks Hank. How about this one?"

"That one's from me and Brooke," said Marianne. "We collaborated on that."

"Open it already!" cried Brooke.

Val opened the box to reveal a brand-new Palm Pilot.

"Thanks you two. This probably cost you a lot."

"Well, we figured you could use it," said Marianne.

"At least you'll be more organized and not stressed out again," stated Brooke.

"I'll definitely use this."

Val opened the present from Alex and found herself a frame from her first day at work and a one-week worth of inventory pass, which she could use to skip the work. She grabbed another present that was from Jamie. It was not a big box or anything, although it resembled a book.

"Bring It On! On DVD?"

"I thought you might like it," Jamie said. "Who knows? You could probably learn something from it. Besides, it's about the life of cheerleaders."

"Thanks Jamie," she laughed. "I'll treasure it forever."

"Here's mine," Caitie said as she handed her a box.

Val opened it carefully to reveal a book that resembled a journal of some sort. It seemed ordinary, but when she turned to the front cover, she saw a hand-painted picture of her and her best friend.

"I bought a plain journal, and then I decorated and painted the covers."

"Caitie, this is the best. Thank you so much."

"Don't thank me yet. If you look inside, I wrote some of mine and your favorite quotes. I also wrote some of the things we did in the past, as well as little pictures and stuff."

"Caitie, you're the best," she said as she hugged her. "Thanks for everything."

"Anytime, Lanier," she smiled and hugged her back.

The doorbell rang, and Brooke immediately stood up. Val's parents were in the process of giving Val her present. Brooke came to the door and opened it as the person she waited for finally arrived.

"Hello Brooke!" he greeted.

"Nick," she smiled. "You're just in time. Come in. Everyone is at the living room."

He smiled back and entered the house as Brooke closed the door.

"Well, I guess that's everything," he could hear Val say.

"Wait," Hank said. "Tyler's present is still on the table."

"Oh, right," Val said as she started opening the small box and revealed something that could only be described as one word. "Wow…"

She held up the sterling silver chain necklace with a silver heart-shaped pendant that had small sapphire stones on its corners. On the back of the pendant was an engraved object that resembled a key and the words "You hold the key to my heart." Val remained speechless as the rest of the people in the living room looked on. 

"Now that looks really expensive," said Jamie.

"All I know was that he had it especially made for you," added Hank.

"It's so beautiful, honey," said Joanna Lanier.

"I know," said Caitie and Marianne in unison.

"I can't believe he gave this to me," Val whispered silently. "If only he was here. I miss him so much."

"Do you want me to put it on you?"

"Sure," Val said as she handed the necklace to the person behind her.

"It looks great on you."

"Thanks Tyler," she muttered unconsciously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Well, that's a cliffhanger for you. I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review! I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182_


	12. Caught in between

BetweenMyHomeandMyDream12 __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: I'm sorry for the really long delay. I had a lot of things on my hands lately. Luckily, I had some spare time for today. Anyway, if you are reading this, thank you for still reading it. Well, let's just go right ahead to the story.

****

Parent Trap

Between my home and my dream

"Tyler?" she asked no one in particular.

She looked ahead to meet mirrored expressions of her face on her friends' faces. She was stuck in thinking that it was all a joke, a very cruel joke, or if it was all real. Slowly, Val turned around to find out that it was no joke.

"Special delivery from Europe!" he smiled at her.

Val shed a tear as she went over and hugged him.

"I can't believe you're here."

"Well, I am," he said as he hugged her back. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she smiled as she looked back up at him. "When did you return?"

"A few hours ago."

"Why didn't you call? And how did you get in here, anyway?"

Before Tyler could reply, Brooke answered for him.

"Let's just say that Nick was taller than me for a brief moment."

"You mean it was you who called earlier?" Joanna asked Tyler.

"The one and only."

"That was a good surprise, bro," Hank said as he gave him a quick hug. "Very sneaky."

"Well, thank you, Beecham."

"And hat's off to you, too, Brooke," continued Hank.

"Thanks Hank."

After catching up with everyone, Tyler asked them a favor.

"Is it okay if I steal the birthday celebrant for an hour or two?"

"Not at all," Caitie joked. "We'd all be happy to get rid of her."

"I second that," said Jamie.

"Me too," added Hank.

"Me three," chimed in Brooke.

"Thanks a lot," Val said. "I'll remember that when your birthdays come."

"Kidding!" they said simultaneously.

Tyler led Val to his car before they headed towards their destination. Val looked around curiously to find that they were headed for the EMS station.

"What are we doing here?"

"I just need to find something first. You can stay in the car if you want."

"I'll help you find it," she said as she followed him in. "What are you looking for anyway?"

"There's this red thing that Alex told me about."

"What red thing?"

"I don't know. Look near the locker room, and I'll look over the other side."

"Okay."

Val found nothing significant in the locker room. She headed towards the kitchen when Tyler called her name.

"Val! I need you help with this! Something's missing!"

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the back."

Val headed there, only to find a neatly arranged table for two, complete with a red table cloth, two candles… The whole package.

"Oh my God!" she gasped.

"Happy anniversary," he smiled and gave her a kiss.

"You remembered?"

"How could I forget?" 

Tyler gently took her hand and led her to the table. 

"Who arranged all of this?"

"I did."

"But you said you just came back from your trip."

"And I also said that I returned a few hours ago."

"Well, who cooked all of this food?"

"I did."

"You didn't have to do that you know."

"But I wanted to. Besides, it is our anniversary."

"Well, that's very sweet of you. Can I ask you one question though?"

"What is it?"

"Is this food edible?"

"I don't know. Are you that hungry?"

"I just ate at my party. Are you?"

"I ate when I was cooking this at home."

"So why did you cook all of this?"

"I wanted to do something special."

"You coming back was special enough."

"It's the thought that counts, right?"

"I guess," she smiled. "We could have gone somewhere more appealing than this place though."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"Why we're here?"

"Is there any specific reason why we're here?

"As a matter of fact, there is one thing that I have in mind."

"Well?"

"This is where it all started."

"Where what started?"

"Us. You and me. Me and you. Out first kiss. The first time we said 'I love you' to each other."

Val just stared at him.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Do you know what I'm talking about at all?"

"Of course I do. I was just thinking."

"Thinking what?"

"This spot that we're sitting. This very spot. This is where we first kissed. I remember. It was in the middle of the court."

Tyler smiled.

"I never really though of that," as he leaned in closer to her.

Val met him halfway as their lips met, reliving their first one.

"We should at least try the food," Val said as she broke the kiss.

Tyler just nodded and returned to his plate.

"Is your dad at your house?"

Somehow, the mood had suddenly darkened.

"No."

"Is he still in Europe?"

"Yes."

"Did he have some business going on?"

"Yes."

"Did anything happen between you two?"

"No."

"Did you have a fight?"

"No."

"Did you know Alex fired you?"

"What?" 

"So you are paying attention?"

"I am… I was just looking at the food. It's edible."

"Is anything bothering you?"

"No."

"So there is something bothering you."

"I said no, Val," Tyler almost screamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"What happened on that trip?"

"Nothing."

"I know you're lying, Tyler."

"You're not a mind reader. You can't tell me what I'm acting or feeling."

"But I know you. I'm your girlfriend. I'm one of your best friends."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"Well, you kept answering in one syllable, you can't even look at me in the eye, and you suddenly became irritated when I brought up your dad."

"You want to know what's bothering me? Fine. My dad wants me to live with him in L.A."

"Why is that a bad thing?"

"Because the whole trip was a sham. The whole time I was alone with myself while he's out there with his business buddies. We only spent a few measly hours together. It didn't even count for anything because he was so busy flirting with other French girls at the bar we went to. I wanted to talk. He wanted to sleep. I wanted to go out. He wanted to do business."

"I'm sorry. I guess you turned him down… Did you?"

"From what happened in the past few days… No, make that years… I had every right to turn him down."

"Are you saying you didn't turn him down?" she asked hesitantly.

"No."

"Then what did you tell him?"

"I left him hanging. I was so upset. I just took off."

"So what are you going to tell him when you get back?"

"Well, Kingsport is my home. I have my family here. The squad. School. Football. My friends. You. I'm happy here."

"Then you're staying here then."

"It's not that simple, Val."

"Why not?"

"Because living in L.A. with my dad was something that I always wanted for a very long time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

I hoped you liked it! I knew it took a while, but you're still reading, right? Please review. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	13. A Matter of Fact

AMatterofFact __

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: The last time I updated was about a month ago. There's no excuse for the long delay, but with the incident on the 11th of last month, school, my personal schedule, and some other things that happened recently, it had trouble finding the time to write. I made a pledge a long time ago with other writers here, and we swore to write IAHB fan fiction even if it's cancelled. I'm willing to keep that promise. After all, I already have story #15 of NOEbY and some other stories as well. I hope you're still reading this. If you are, thank you for bearing with me. I really appreciate it. 

****

Parent Trap

A matter of fact

Jamie stood in front of his mirror and tried to fix his tie but to no avail. He was on his way to the final competition of the Academic Bowl. The Kingsport Academic Team is in the finals against Spreewell. Even after he was on the team, he doubted that the team would make it to the finals. For the last fifteen years up until three weeks ago, he was against the whole competition / school spirit deal. Although he would never admit it, especially to his father, Jamie was excited.

"I am so stoked!"

"About what?" asked his dad who popped his head in the room.

"Nothing," Jamie replied with a sudden mood shift as he continued to fix his tie.

"Do you want me to help you with that?"

"I can handle it."

"How do you feel?"

"Normal."

"Are you excited about the competition?"

"I just want it to be over as soon as possible."

"Don't be _lackadaisical_. This is supposed to be a fun event. Show some school spirit for once. The least you could do is to show some liveliness and interest instead of sulk."

"What the heck are you talking about? Lack of what?"

"You heard what I said. Your mom is at the school already. Good luck."

"I don't need your luck."

After his dad left him, Jamie returned to his tie. After five minutes, he gave up and headed right out of the door to his motorcycle. He saw his dad's car leaving the garage.

"I won't let you ruin this for me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caitie, Val, and Brooke walked along the sidewalk to Kingsport High School, which is where the competition is held. Caitie noticed that Val had been silent since Tyler returned. It had been a week after her birthday. Brooke thought of the same thing. She had an inkling that something was definitely up.

"Is Tyler coming?" asked Caitie.

"I don't know," said Val.

"Did you guys break up?" asked Brooke.

"I don't know."

"Val, it's either you know or well, YOU KNOW!" said Brooke.

"I don't know."

"Is something wrong, Lanier?"

"I don't know."

"What's your name?" 

"I don't know."

"Val," said Caitie. "Snap out of it!"

"What?"

"What happened between you and Tyler?" Caitie asked. "And don't tell me that you don't know, because I will just smack you in the head right here and now."

"Tyler's leaving! Are you happy now?"

"WHAT?" Brooke and Caitie said simultaneously.

"He's leaving Kingsport and moving to L.A. with his dad."

"Are you sure?" asked Caitie.

"He told me that his dad asked him to move with him and that he wanted to for a long time."

"Did he say he was going?"

"Well, no, but what else is there to think about if you're wish finally came true."

"How about his life here in Kingsport," said Brooke. "His friends, school, job, and in case you forgot, YOU!"

"He has been avoiding me for the last week."

"And so have you," Caitie said. "It's pretty obvious."

"What am I going to do? I can't tell him to choose between his family and me. That's just wrong. We're not even married. And even if we were, that's just not right."

"Tell him how you feel," said Caitie. "Talk to him."

Val didn't say a word. The three continued to walk until they arrived at the school. As they reached the door, Caitie spotted Tyler.

"There he is," she pointed at him.

"Just drop it, Caitie," Val said. "I really don't want to deal with this right now."

"Fine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank, Marianne, and Tyler were standing outside the second door of the auditorium. The three were talking when Val, Caitie, and Brooke came in.

"There she is," said Hank.

"Hank, could you stop talking about it already? I don't want to deal with her right now."

"Are you really leaving?"

"I guess."

"When is you dad leaving?" asked Marianne.

"In three days."

"If you asked me," started Hank. "You should stay here. From what I heard about your trip, I think it would be best if you two stayed apart."

"Well, I didn't ask you."

"All right. You don't have to bite my head off."

"I'm sorry."

"Guys," said Marianne. "The competition is about to start. We should go in."

"Fine," the both said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"WELCOME TO THE FINAL COMPETITION OF THE 27th ANNUAL ACADEMIC BOWL!"

An applause was heard all over the room before the host resumed.

"I'm Linda Lowry, and on of the Kingsport High, welcome. The final two teams will be competing for the championship. And here they are…"

The contestants emerged from the stage and went of their designated seats.

"Let's give a big round of applause to Spreewell and our very own, Kingsport."

An big applause once again filled the room.

"For Spreewell, we have David Zheng for mathematics, Alicia Brown for science, Kansas Miller for social studies, and Jacques Devereaux for literary language and vocabulary."

Applause.

"And for Kingsport, we have Duan Chen for mathematics, Vladimir Eidelman for science, Anna Maeser for social studies, and last but not least, Jamie Waite for literary language and vocabulary."

A standing ovation presided the room with a majority cheering for Jamie.

"This is nuts," he said in excitement. "Never in a million years would I think that his would happen to me."

Mrs. Lowry spoke a few more words, and the competition commenced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"For science: In his lifetime, how many patents did Thomas Edison get?"

__

BUZZ

"Mr. Eidelman."

"One thousand ninety-three."

"Correct. The previous question brings up Kingsport to 1250 points and a tie with Spreewell. That was the end of round two. Round three is what we call the "Lightning Round." Each question is worth 50 points. After 30 seconds pass, the points will escalate to 100, 200, and 400. You will have 2 minutes to finish this round and gain as many points as possible. The following categories will appear in this order: science, mathematics, social studies, and literary language and vocabulary."

The crowd was asked to be quiet before the round started.

"First question: Who invented 'scotch tape'?"

BUZZ

"Mr. Eidelman."

"Richard Drew."

"Correct. In what year did Einstein propose the general theory of relativity?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Brown."

"!916."

"Correct… Which insect boasts the most toxic venom?"

BUZZ

"Mr. Eidelman."

"Black Widow spiders."

"Incorrect. Ms. Brown."

"Harvester Ants."

"Correct… What is the distance between the Earth and the Moon."

BUZZ

"Ms. Brown."

"186,023."

"Incorrect. Mr. Eidelman."

"238,850."

"Correct… Which planet has a backward rotation?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Brown."

"Venus."

"Correct… Mathematics round: What is the square root of -1?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Chen."

"i."

"Correct… Jody designs food displays for the Nile Supermarket chain. For one of her displays, she wants to set up soup cans in the form of a square pyramid. She's decided to use 9 cans for each side of the square base of the pyramid. If each carton holds 24 soup cans, how many cartons will Jody need to open to build the pyramid?"

BUZZ

"Mr. Zheng."

"12"

"Correct… Wilson Middle School students are selling boxes of greeting cards. The cards were shipped in 3 cartons, each 54 inches high. Each box of cards is 2 inches high, and was packed inside the cartons in layers. There are 8 boxes to a layer. The student council gets $1.50 profit for each box they sell. How much profit will the student council earn if all the boxes of cards are sold?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Chen."

"$973."

"Incorrect. Mr. Zheng."

"$972."

"Correct… Social Studies round: What are the tracts of land set aside for the ownership or use of particular Native American tribes?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Maeser."

"Indian Reservations."

"Correct… What town in northern France, the capital of Orne Department, on the Sarthe River, in Normandy."

BUZZ

"Ms. Miller."

"Alençon."

"Correct… Who is the Spanish explorer born in Badajoz?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Miller."

"Pedro de Alvarado."

"Correct… Which English statesman, active in Parliament, was ultimately executed for treason?"

BUZZ

"Ms. Miller."

"Sir Henry Vane."

"Correct… In the next round, one needs to answer and spell the word. Literary Language and Vocabulary round: What is a small, dry, one-seeded fruit with a thin wall?"

BUZZ

"Mr. Waite."

"_Achene_. A-c-h-e-n-e. _Achene_."

"Correct… What is a _zwieback_?"

BUZZ

"Mr. Waite."

"_Zwieback_. Z-w-i-e-b-a-c-k. t is a usually sweetened bread baked first as a loaf and later sliced and toasted. _Zwieback_."

"Correct!"

Everyone cheered. The game is so close, and Kingsport just jumped to the lead with Jamie's response.

"What is a characteristic arrangement of flowers on a stem or in a cluster?"

BUZZ

"Mr. Duval."

"_Inflorescence_. I-n-f-l-o-r-e-s-c-e-n-c-e. _Inflorescence_."

"Mr. Duval… That is correct."

The crowd turned silent once more. As the time ran out, only one question remained. Kingsport needs it to win.

"What does it mean for a person to be _lackadaisical_?"

BUZZ. 

"Mr. Duval for the championship. First, give me the spelling, and then the definition."

"_Lackadaisical_. L-a-c-k-a-d-a-i-s-i-k-a-l. _Lackadaisical_."

"Mr. Duval… I'm sorry, but that is incorrect."

Cheers emerged from the crowd once again.

"Mr. Waite. It's all up to you."

"That's comforting," he muttered silently."

"Once again, that question: What does it mean for a person to be _lackadaisical_?"

__

Lackadaisical? Is it just me or did my father just say that word this morning?

"_Lackadaisical. _L-a-c-k-a-d-a-i-s-i-c-a-l. _Lackadaisical_."

"You are one step closer to the championship. If you can tell me the correct definition of the word, Kingsport High School will win the match."

Jamie turned his head to the crowd, and surprisingly, he found his father in the front row with his mom. Jamie held his gaze as the words from his father earlier that day replayed in his mind: _"Don't be **lackadaisical**. This is supposed to be a fun event. Show some school spirit for once. The least you could do is to show some liveliness and interest instead of sulk."_

Jamie smiled at him and spoke his answer.

"To be _lackadaisical_ is to be like me for the past years," Jamie said, causing a pause from the crowd. "To be _lackadaisical_ is to lack spirit, liveliness, and interest."

"Mr. Waite… That is correct. KINGSPORT HIGH SCHOOL wins the match with the final score of 2850 over 2600. Congratulations to all of you, and a special congratulations to the Kingsport team."

Everyone was standing up as Tyler, Hank, Marianne, Caitie, Val, and Brooke ran towards the stage to greet Jamie.

"We won?" Jamie said.

"We did," said Anna. "And we couldn't have done it without you."

"I can't believe this. This is surreal."

Jamie looked up to his friends.

"You did it!" they all cheered. "Congratulations!"

"I can't believe I did it."

"How do you feel?" Hank asked.

"To tell you the truth, it feels great."

"So are you still mad at your dad?" asked Caitie.

"Actually, I should thank him. If it wasn't for him, we could've lost the game."

"What do you mean?" asked Tyler.

"It's a long story," he said. "I'm glad you guys came."

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," said Val.

"Thanks."

"So where are we guys celebrating?" asked Brooke.

"I'm still stoked and all, but I think I'll just spend some time with my family for tonight. We'll celebrate later."

Everyone pleaded. After a few more conversations, everyone went his or her separate way. Jamie approached his parents.

"We're so proud of you," said Helen.

"Thanks Mom," Jamie said as he hugged her.

"You did it," said Frank.

"Yea, I did."

"Are you still mad at me for putting you up with this?"

"Dad, I hated you for tricking me into this. Now, I don't anymore. I want to thank you for the best experience and the best time that I had while doing this. Thank you for letting me see that I am capable of a lot of things if I put my mind and heart to it."

"Is that all?"

"And I couldn't have done this without you. If you told me before this whole ordeal started that I should do this, I would have backed out just because you said so. When you used your reverse psychology tricked and told me that I couldn't do it, I didn't back out just because you said I would. In the end of it all, I guess you knew all along that I would be doing this for my own benefit."

"I'm glad I helped you, but it was you who did the work. I just supplied the motivation."

"Did you know about that last word? I couldn't help but think that this was all a conspiracy of yours."

"I swear I didn't know, but my father always called me that when I was young."

"Really?"

"Yea. As hard as it may for you to believe, I was the leather wearing, spiked-hair sporting, motorcycle riding dude. I was kind of like you or the other way around."

"Are you serious?" Jamie laughed.

"I'm telling you the truth. Just ask your mom."

Jamie's mom nodded.

"What a fluke, huh?"

"Yes… And a big one at that."

Jamie smiled and for the first time in a long time, he finally felt that he and his father understood each other.

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That was it for this chapter. I think there will be one or two more for this story. Don't forget to review. And thanks for reading this. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182 : )


	14. The General's Daughter

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: The last time I updated was a very long time ago. There's no excuse for the long delay, and I'm really sorry. I understand if you don't even want to read this anymore. Nonetheless, I want to finish this no matter how long it would take me. I made a pledge a long time ago with other writers here, and we swore to write IAHB fan fiction even if it's canceled. If you're still reading this, thank you for bearing with me. I really appreciate it. In case you have forgotten about the past, just read the previous chapters.

****

Parent Trap

The General's Daughter

He looked at his surroundings as he turned to her street. He remembered the first time he came across this road. It was dark with sirens blaring in the background. It was a stranger to him. And hauntingly, it was the place where he met General McLemore.

"Hank? Why are we stopping?" Marianne asked. "My house is right there."

"Exactly."

"Is something wrong?"

"Maybe you should just go in alone. I don't want to disturb your old man."

"Hank…" she started.

"What?!?"

"Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow."

Marianne stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut before Hank could say a word. Feeling guilty, Hank ran after her.

"Wait!"

"I don't want to talk to you."

"I forgot to ask you something."

"What?"

"Is your dad home?"

"Why? You're just going to run off anyway?"

"Please just answer the question."

"Yes. My dad is here."

"Good. Let's go."

"Go where?"

"I'm walking you to your door."

"But…"

"Come on."

Before she could say something, Hank grabbed her hand and led her to the door. Without any sign of hesitation, Hank rang the doorbell. 

"Mr. McLemore!"

"Hank! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm calling your dad. I need to give him a piece of my mind."

Suddenly, the door flew open and out comes the general.

"Hank! Thanks for bringing my daughter home safely. Won't you come in?"

"Well, you know what, I'm not afraid of you. Most of the time I might appear to be afraid, but I'm not afraid of you. No way. Not a single bit of fear in my body. I know you hate my guts and that's fine with me, but I'm not going to run away from you. My feet are firmly on the ground. And just so you know, I like your daughter a lot and I care about her. Do you know whom I don't care about? I don't care about you. I don't care what you say or what you think. Especially about me. I'm not going to let you ruin our relationship. No way. You can scare me all you want and make me suffer for all I care, but I will NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY YOU!"

Hank stopped for air and looked at the general. To his surprise, Mr. McLemore had a smirk on his face. _'What? No looks that can kill? No hate stare? No nothing?'_

"I see I struck a nerve there. I don't know if I deserved all of that. All I asked is if you wanted to come in."

Hank's right brow rose up.

"Excuse me?" he wheezed.

"Would you like to come in? We were just about to have dinner."

"Are you talking to me?"

"I don't see anyone else that I could possibly be talking to."

Hank looked over at Marianne, who mouthed 'Please stay.'

"Okay."

Hank followed Marianne's father to the dining table. There was a spot on the table that was prepared for an extra person. _'Is that for me?'_ Hank jolted when someone patted his back.

"Nice speech," Jake said.

"Thanks… I guess."

Hank seated himself beside Marianne. After a short prayer of grace, the five of them proceeded to eat dinner. Although he said that he doesn't care what Marianne's father thinks, Hank continued to eat with proper etiquette. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner, Hank was called to the patio by the general. He abruptly followed him and the lack of fear that was shown on his face was simply pure acting.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Hank started.

"Don't be. I found it rather amusing. I've never had a person say such unpleasant things about me in less than half a minute."

"Once again, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that…"

"I knew it was going to happen soon. Most of the time, I don't even expect it. Marianne has had many suitors in the past few years."

"And you're telling me this because…"

"All of them ran away. All of them left them left her hurting. My little girl was heartbroken one too many times." 

"What are you saying?"

"…All of them but one exceptional young man. No… He didn't run away. He stood up for her unlike the rest. He didn't give up. Do you know who that man is?"

"Well, Marianne really didn't tell me about her past. I don't see how I could have known about this guy."

"That man is you, Hank."

"Me?"

"You're the one who stood up for her. You're the one whose feet are firmly on the ground. You're the young man I thought I'd never meet in a thousand years."

"Excuse me, sir, but I thought you hated me."

"I thought I did, too, until now. I see the way my daughter talks about you. She likes you a lot. I just want what's best for her."

"Are you saying that all of that was just a test?"

"Well, yes and no. Every time I see Marianne crying, my anger for your likes has gotten higher and higher. When I met you, the first thing that comes to my mind is that you're just another one of them - athletes, quarterbacks, jocks… People who think they can come and go as they please. You certainly fit that stereotype."

"I guess I do."

"I shouldn't have judged you ahead of time. I guess we didn't exactly meet on pleasant terms as you recall."

"I remember. I prayed to God that I'd never see you again, but He had other plans. I'm glad we met again. I guess there are always obstacles to pass when it deals with someone special."

"Well, I'm glad we had this talk. My stint at the school is over now. I won't be back for some time."

"I'll look after Marianne for you, sir."

"You can call me Mr. McLemore."

"Really? I've gotten used to calling you 'sir' and 'General McLemore.'"

"Well, whatever fits you. You're not a bad kid, you know that."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, General."

"Why don't we come inside? I think it's about to pout put here."

"We might as well. I better head home. My dad must be looking for me."

"Hey, take care of yourself, all right?"

"I will. Bye, sir."

"Goodbye, Hank."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After saying goodbye to the rest of the family, Hank walked out with Marianne.

"Hank, thanks for what you did today. Um, did you mean what you said about me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Good night, Hank."

"Good night, Marianne. Sweet dreams."

"Only you," she smiled before closing the door.

"I guess dating the general's daughter is not that bad after all," he said to himself before walking to the car.

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That was it for this chapter. I hope you liked it whoever you are. Thanks for still reading this. Your effort is greatly appreciated. Until the next chapter : ) … And like always, I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	15. To Leave or Not to Leave... That is the ...

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: For a recap of the background story of this chapter, look into previous chapters, in particularly chapter 12. Thanks for reading : )

****

Parent Trap

To Leave or Not to Leave… That is the Question

Val shivered for the third time that night as she walked alongside Caitie and Brooke. A part of her wished that she had just brought the car, while another part was grateful for the extended time for thinking. They were only a couple of blocks away from Caitie's house.

"Thanks for walking home with me first," said Caitie. "I would hate to have to walk alone in this cold weather."

"Don't worry about it," said Val.

"You two better go. Your parents must be waiting. I'll see you guys tomorrow or whenever."

"Bye Caitie," said the Laniers.

Val and Brooke proceeded to their house.

"What did you think of tonight?" asked Val.

"I have to say that it was weird seeing Jamie being the intellectually, talented overachiever.

"I second that," she laughed.

They were about to go in the house when Brooke noticed a familiar car.

"Is that Tyler?"

"Where?"

"In that blue Porsche just across from here."

Val tried to find a familiar figure, and as if reading her thoughts, the "familiar figure" stepped out of the vehicle. To add to the surprise, the figure moved towards her.

"Um, Brooke, do you mind if you could go ahead and give us a minute or two?"

"Sure Val. I'll tell Mom and Dad that you'll be in later."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"I'll remember that," she smiled before heading home. "Good luck."

"I'll certainly need it."

It only took a few more steps before Tyler was standing in front of her. For the first time since they started dating, an awkward feeling hovered above them.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Um, it's cold out here, isn't it?"

"You know, Tyler, I couldn't really tell," she smiled. "That's why I'm wearing this coat of mine."

"Me neither," he smiled back. "You look great in it."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," she laughed.

"At least I tried."

"Do you want to sit?" she said, referring to the steps of their front porch.

"That would be great."

For the second time that night, awkwardness fell above them.

"I… I'm sorry about the last couple of days," started Tyler. "I've been a jerk and I'm really sorry."

"Me too. Avoiding you didn't really help either. It only kept us farther apart."

"I know," he said as he took hold of one of her hands. "It's just that this is something…"

"That you've always wanted for a long time. I know. I guess I'm not making it any easier."

"How could you not? I mean, with my work and duties at the station, my education here, my family, and my friends, the odds would certainly be in favor of staying here. If I add all the lonesome years of hoping to be with my dad, it would be in favor of California. If this happened a few months, even a year earlier, I would have gone without a question. Now that you're in the picture, it all evens out, and I don't know what to do."

"The way I see it, it has to be your decision."

"Why?"

"Because only you can choose to tip the scale to the one you desire the most."

"Easier said than done."

"Well, I'll support you on whatever decision you make. If you stay, then that's great. If you go, then I guess it's for the best."

"One thing's for certain."

"What's that?"

"I'll really miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," she said. I better go inside. It's getting colder by the minute."

"We're having a farewell dinner tomorrow for my dad. I was wondering if you could come."

"I don't think I should interfere…"

"I'll announce my decision then."

"I'll think about it."

"Well, until tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow."

Tyler stepped down the porch and walked towards his car when someone called his name. He turned around to see Val, who was running in his direction. 

"Val?"

"I can't lie to you anymore," she said as she clung to his shoulders. "I'm really sorry."

"What's wrong?" he said while wrapping his arms around her.

"I know this is very selfish of me, but I don't want you to go," she said as she looked up at him with tearful eyes. "I know I said earlier that I'll support whatever decision you make, but I don't think I can. I know he's your dad and everything, but I don't know what I'll do without you. Please stay. Don't leave us. Don't leave me."

"Val, you have to understand that…"

"Don't say it, Tyler. I don't think I want to understand."

"You know Val, you're making this really hard for me. That's not fair."

"And you leaving is not fair either."

"I can't really deal with this right now. And you know what, you're right. You are being selfish."

"I didn't know that caring about someone and loving them and wanting them to stay and wanting to be with them is a crime. 

"You're just doing this to make me stay."

"So you want to leave?"

"I didn't say that. What I'm trying to say is that you're only doing this to influence my decision."

"Oh, that make it so much better."

"Val, what more do you want? I'm giving it me best shot. What you're doing isn't fair at all. Not to my dad and certainly not to me."

"All I did was tell the truth."

"The truth is not going to cut it."

"Well, excuse me for being true to what I feel."

"Why couldn't you just keep it to yourself?"

"What if I did? If I decided to keep it to myself, and you ended up choosing to leave, then I would never forgive myself for that. And I'm not alone in this. The others might act supportively, but they don't want you to leave either."

"You know what, just stop, all right. I don't care what anybody thinks. This is my decision to make."

"If that's what you want, then you can leave for all I care. I wish I never said anything in the first place."

Val turned around and went back to her house. Tyler ran after her.

"Val, wait a minute…"

"What do you want?"

"Please come to dinner tomorrow."

"I don't think you'd want me there."

"I really want you to be there. My parents want you to be there as well."

"Well, Tyler, I don't care what anybody thinks. This is my decision to make."

"Where is this all coming from?"

"You taught it to me, remember?"

And with that, Val slammed the door on his face. Feeling dejected, Tyler headed home, driving slowly so he could think. He spotted his house and turned left to the driveway. It wasn't until he stepped outside that he saw a huge banner in front of his house. It said: **WE (**your dearest friends**) WANT YOU TO STAY!**

"Thanks for helping me out, everyone. Thank you so much."

He wasn't sure it he was being sarcastic or if he meant what he said. Nonetheless, tomorrow would be a day he'll never forget. He just hopes to make the right decision.

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That was it for this chapter. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review. It's just nice to know what you thought of the chapter. No flames, please : ) Happy New Year! I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	16. Is Blood Thicker That Water?

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: I don't mean to offend anyone by some of the words that I will use in this chapter, in particularly one. I just did it to make a point.

****

Parent Trap

Is Blood Thicker Than Water?

Tyler took down the banner and went inside the house. When he reached the kitchen, he saw his mother, who seemed to be waiting for him.

"What is this?" he asked as he held up the banner. "Did you have any idea about this?"

"Well, Hank came and asked me if they could."

"And you agreed?"

"It's a nice gesture, Tyler. You're friends really care about you."

"Well, I don't really need this right now. This is a huge decision for me. I've had enough from Val tonight."

"The truth of the matter is that…"

"What?"

"William and I want you to stay."

"I can't believe you're doing this, too. You guys are just like everybody. The reason I came home was because Dad was trying to bribe me. Now that I'm back, all of you are doing it, too. I'm glad he's due back tomorrow. I'll just go crazy listening to this anymore."

"We just said what we felt."

"I really appreciate it, but this is too hard and nobody is helping."

"Is Val coming?" she changed the topic.

"I don't know. I don't really know anything right now."

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Tomorrow came just like any other day, and like any other day, the sunrise turned into the sunset. Tyler waited outside the house for Val. Matthew Connell arrived a few hours earlier. It was already seven o'clock, but there was no sign of Val.

"I guess you've made your final decision," Tyler whispered. "Now I have to make mine."

He returned to the house and hoped that he'll get through the whole ordeal without any more drama.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To his surprise, the dinner went by rather smoothly. No bickering came from either one of his parents. William and Matthew seemed to be getting along quite nicely. If it wasn't for the absence of world peace, he could have sworn that he just experienced utopia. Unfortunately, all of that does not matter when what he feels inside is complete chaos.

"Tyler?" asked Mrs. Connell-Jenks. "Are you all right? You seem to have spaced out."

"I'm fine," he said. "Really. I am. There's nothing to worry about."

A few minutes later, the feeling of bliss faded away from the room and every eye seemed to have focused on Tyler. He figured that this was his cue to announce his decision.

"I've done a lot of thinking over these past couple of days. It was not easy at all. First, my dad arrived in my doorstep after years of not seeing him. Then all of a sudden, a bomb has been dropped on me that I have to choose between my life and a life that I never thought I would have a chance to have. You wanted me to make my decision by tonight, and I did."

"So?" Mr. Connell asked patiently. "Tell us! We're going to support you on whatever you decide."

"I know that this will be hard for you, but it is harder for me…"

"Cut the crap and get over with this already," added Mr. Connell once again. "I haven't packed yet and you haven't packed yet."

"I'm staying, Dad."

"What?" asked his dad in outrage.

"I'm staying."

"Are you out of your mind? Why would you want to stay here?"

"Is that what you call support?" said Tyler.

"Damn right it is. I can't believe you're saying this. I just wasted thousands of dollars to come here for nothing. I mean, this house is nice and all, but you'll have a much better time in LA. You always told me how you hated living here."

"Times change after a number of years."

"Come on, it wasn't that long ago. Our house will be much bigger there."

"My decision has nothing to do with how big the house is or how much better my life might be if I went with you. I have my friends, my responsibilities, Mom, William, and my education in this town. My life is here."

"You mean those good for nothing kids at that station of yours. I've met them, and I must say that you don't really have much. You call that leather wearing punk and that gothic companion of his your friends. From the looks of it, I don't think they're such good influences. And what about the Negro kid? What was he doing in that station? Don't tell me that you're friends with him as well. And I assume you're on William's side as well. He's just a loser who had nothing better to do than marry your mom."

Tyler didn't know what had gotten into him but he stood up from his chair and started headed towards his dad. Daphne and William could do nothing but watch the whole scene unfold in front of them.

"And what about that blond bimbo that you call your girlfriend? Did she have something to do with this decision? You can do so much better than her."

"You know what, Dad? You should quit while…"

"I understand if you prefer blondes. Believe me, there are tons of them in LA. And I don't think they're as prude as your girlfriend seems to be. You can probably get some easier if you…"

"JUST SHUT UP!!!" Tyler shouted as he punched his dad right on his jaw and caused him to fall on the floor. "I don't care what you think!"

"Tyler!" cried Daphne. "Calm yourself down."

"I don't really care anymore, Mom."

Matthew Connell stood up and looked at Tyler in the eye.

"What was that about?" Matthew asked while keeping a hand on this jaw.

"You have no right to just come barging in on my life and telling me what to do. Jamie and Caitie are my friends, and they are so much more than what you think. You have no right to judge them. Hank is my best friend! He's one of the best and the brightest in the group. He's our team leader for goodness sake. And don't you ever refer to his by that word again."

He paused for a minute before continuing.

"As for William, well, at least he was there for Mom and for me. I might have disliked him in the beginning, but he tried to work things out between us. You might be my father, but he was a better father to me in these last few years than you ever were. And he's not a loser. If you want to call somebody a loser, why don't you look at yourself in the mirror?"

"Tyler, wait a minute here. I…"

"I'm not done yet!" he yelled at him. "And how dare you say those things about Val? I'm not with Val because I want to sleep with her. She's talented, she's smart, she's a terrific person, and I love her for that. She makes me happy, and she loves me. That's probably more that you can afford."

"Tyler, I love you. You're my son. We're family."

"You can say that we're family, and you can say that I'm your son, but you have no right to say that you love me," Tyler's eyes were now brimming with tears.

"But I do love you, Tyler."

"Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it."

Tyler wiped his eyes and headed for the door. The three adults followed him outside.

"Don't walk away from me, young man!" called out Mr. Connell.

"Why don't you just take yourself upstairs and pack your stuff. You're leaving tomorrow, remember? In fact, why don't you do all of us a huge favor and just leave now. Don't try to fix something that can't be fixed. You were never there for me, so why don't we just leave it at that. Just stay out of my life! I don't want you in it."

Tyler continued to walk away. He looked back and noticed that his dad's eyes were starting to water. 

"You know, Dad. All I ever wanted was to hear you say that you loved me and that you cared about me."

"I do."

"It doesn't hurt to say it once in a while

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Only one/two more chapters to go. I hope you liked this one. Thanks for reading! I'll be back ~ Scalret182


	17. This Too Shall Pass

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: I really don't have anything to say. I just want to thank all of you who are reading/reviewing my stories. I really appreciate it.

****

Parent Trap

This Too Shall Pass

For the longest time, Val never realized that her family had access to so many channels. With her job and education, she never really had the time to just sit down and relax and do absolutely nothing. Then again, it was never her style to just sit down and do nothing. As she turned off the TV and listened to the silence, she noticed how pathetic her situation is at the moment. Her parents have a date and went to some fancy restaurant. Even Brooke had plans.

"This isn't fair," she said to herself as she headed upstairs.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Val hurried to pick it up. She almost grabbed the phone when she realized that the other person on the line could be Tyler. She thought about it for a second and decided to let the machine pick it up.

"Me and my stupid pride."

She was fairly surprised when she heard Tyler's mom instead of him. 

"Val? Are you there? This is Mrs. Con…"

Quickly, she picked it up.

"I'm right here. I was in the other room."

"That's fine. Do you happen to know where Tyler is?"

"I should be the last person to know."

"What happened?"

"We had a fight last night. That's why I didn't come."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Things have been really tense around here lately."

"Why are you looking for him?"

"He walked off in the middle of dinner."

"May I ask why?"

"He got upset at his dad. I can't really blame him. Matthew just went a little over the line."

"Did he say where he's going?"

"I called you to ask you that. Apparently, no one knows where he is. I called Hank, and he called some other kids, but they really have no idea."

"I hope he's all right."

"Me, too. Well, thanks for your help. I hope you two will work things out."

"Thanks. I'll call you if I hear anything."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Immediately, Val hung up and looked for her car keys and her jacket.

"I hope you're where I think you are."

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In five minutes, Val reached the EMS station. Val noticed that the lights were off, but she kept her hopes up. It was, she thought, the most likely place that he'll be. After she found the right key, she opened the door slowly and quickly headed towards the back of the building. A small smile crept on her face when she heard faint footsteps and the sound of a bouncing ball not too far away. She opened the door quietly and peeked to see what's going on. 

To her dismay, Tyler definitely looked like he has been crying. It wasn't the first time that she saw him crying, but it was the worst emotional state that she ever saw him in. She made a move to approach him, but the sound of his cry stopped her. It was as if he was trying to let all of his anguish out… As though he was trying to tell the whole world. 

Val formed tears in her eyes by just looking at him. She never knew how fragile a person can become. Tyler threw the ball in the air and out of nowhere, he threw a couple of punches on the pole of the basketball ring. After that, he collapsed on the floor with his back on the wall. Val saw him put his head down, which she assumed that he returned to crying once again. Cautiously, she approached him and seated herself on his side.

"Don't hurt yourself," she whispered. "You won't be able to do anything with a broken hand."

Tyler looked up, but he didn't say anything.

"Please say something, Tyler. Talk to me. I hate seeing you like this."

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I was never mad at you. I was just disappointed. Like your mother said, things have been tense lately."

"You talked to my mom?"

"She called me earlier. She's really worried about you."

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I have never seen you like this, Tyler, and it scares me."

"Don't be. I'm fine."

"What happened? What did your dad say?"

"He said a lot of things. I said a lot of things."

"Do you want to tell me what happened? I really want to help you."

Tyler paused before he resumed talking.

"Everything was fine while we were eating. When I announced my decision, everything just turned upside-down. I messed it up. The next thing I know, things were said and started going out of control. My dad started saying stuff that made upset. That's an understatement."

"What did he talk about?"

"He made some comments about Hank… Jamie and Caitie… my mom and William… You."

"What exactly did he say?"

"You don't want to know, but it was enough to push my buttons that words just started coming out of my mouth. It's like this hole opened and everything that I was thinking and feeling for the past years just started pouring out. Before I could stop myself, the damage has been done."

"What did you say to him?"

"I said many things, Val."

"Which ones did you regret saying?"

"I told him that even though William and I had problems, he was a better father to me than my dad ever was. I told him that you make me happy, and that it's more than he can afford. I said that he had no right to say that he loved me. I said that he should do me a huge favor and just leave. And I said to him to stay out of my life for good because I didn't want him in it."

"Is that really what you want?"

"Of course not. It wasn't my reason who was talking. It was my anger. I know that I hurt him really bad."

"I'm sure he understood."

"What if he leaves and never comes back again?"

"Well, the only way of finding out is to talk to him. If he really loves you, then he'd understand."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so."

Silence hovered above them for a few moments before Val spoke up.

"Can you tell me what your dad said about me?"

"Val, I really don't think that you should know what he said."

"Not even a small hint?"

"Why do you want to know so much?"

"I'm just curious."

"Let's just say that he said things that you never were."

Val gave a faint smile before speaking once again.

"So, does this mean that you chose to stay?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you are staying."

"I guess I am."

"So you chose LA for Kingsport then?" she asked with a hint of dejection.

"I didn't say that either."

"Then what did you decide?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Ugh, I hate you so much right now."

"Well, that doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you, you know that."

"I know you do."

"It doesn't hurt to say it once in a while though."

"No, it doesn't," she smiled. "How's your hand?"

"I think I broke it."

"Come on, let's fix that and get out of here before **anyone** finds out."

"Don't you mean **Alex**?"

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The last chapter of this story will be out soon. I hope you liked I and don't forget to review. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	18. The Time Has Come Today

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: I really don't have anything to say. I just want to thank all of you who are reading/reviewing my stories. I really appreciate it. This is the last chapter of this story.

****

Parent Trap

The Time Has Come Today

Today is the day that things would probably come back to normal. Tyler's dad is leaving in an hour. Right now, he's not really sure how he feels about the whole situation.

"Are you ready to leave?" asked Hank.

"Almost," he replied. "Hank, do you want to come to my house?"

"What for?"

"Just to hang out and whatever. My dad is leaving today."

"Really? Marianne's dad is leaving, too. What a relief! Actually, the guys wasn't so bad, but I'm not complaining that he's leaving."

Tyler sighed and picked up his belongings. 

"What's wrong?" asked Hank.

"My dad and I really did not come in good terms."

"Are you glad that he's leaving?"

"I don't really know. I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

The two of them just finished their 2-hour early duty at the station. It was only nine o'clock. No one brought a car, so the two just walked to Tyler's house while throwing the ball back and forth between them.

"How are things with Val?" asked Hank.

"We're okay for now."

"Did you guys fight?"

"Not really. It was just another of those misunderstandings that comes with the whole package in relationships."

"Nicely put," Hank said as he threw the football again. "These past weeks have been crazy. At least you're only dealing with your father. I dealt with the general. He could have rid of me any time and any way he wanted."

As they arrived at Tyler's house, a black motorcycle stopped beside them.

"Hey Jamie!" they both greeted.

"Hey guys!" Jamie said. "Did you just come from the station?"

"Yea, but there weren't too many calls though," Tyler said. "You better hurry, because Alex is waiting for you."

"I heard that you're dad is leaving today."

"Who told you?"

"Caitie, who heard it from Val, who heard it from you."

"I see," Tyler laughed. "Well, he is leaving in a few minutes now."

"How are things with you two?"

"Not that good."

"Do you want my advice?"

"Sure."

"Just talk things out with him. Trust me on this one. These past few weeks, my dad and I were basically on bad terms. After the competition and all was over, I learned to appreciate him and what he does, not only as my father but as a human being."

Tyler and Hank just stared at him.

"Whoa, Jamie, can you hear yourself talking?" said Hank. "What has Caitie done to you?"

"Very funny," he said. "Just trust me on this one."

"I will," said Tyler. "Thanks."

"Well, better not keep Alex waiting."

As Jamie drove off, Matthew Connell came out of the house with his luggage.

"Come on," Tyler said as they approached him. "Hey."

"Hey," his dad said. "Can you help me with these bags?"

"Sure. By the way, Dad, this is Hank. Hank, this is my dad, Matthew Connell."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Connell."

"Same here."

After five minutes, the car was already packed up and Matthew was ready to go.

"I think I better leave you two alone for now," Hank said when he saw Matthew approach them.

"Thanks."

"So, Tyler, I guess this is it."

"I'm sorry about last night."

"It was my fault. I should be the one to apologize."

"Well, we both said a lot of things. I think I'm entitled to apologize as well."

"It was wrong of me to say those things about the people you care about. I'm sure that I got it all wrong. Hank seems like a nice kid."

"He's the best."

There was an awkward silence before Tyler spoke up.

"Look, Dad, I didn't mean most of the things that I said last night. You're not a loser. As much as I hate to admit it, I really had fun with you when I was younger. When you were around anyway."

"I didn't mean to abandon you like that. I really do love you."

"I guess deep down, I knew that, too, but I was just mad. Last night, everything that I have always wanted to say to you came out. For the most part, they were because I was angry. I wanted to blame everything on someone. You were the easy target. I realize now that this is a family problem."

"I should have been there for you. I'm sorry for that."

"And one more thing."

"What that?"

"I didn't mean it when I said for you to stay out of my life. And the part where I said that I don't want you in it, well, I think it would be best if you visit once in a while."

"I'll try to do that as often as I can."

"Or you know, I could visit you there."

"That would be great. I'll call you when I get there."

"You better call."

"I better leave right now before I miss my flight."

"You can always come here if that happens."

"Send my regards to your mother, and to William as well. He's a nice guy."

"I know. I guess this is it."

"I guess so."

The two of them stood in silence for a few moments before Tyler's dad hugged him.

"I will really miss you."

"Same here."

"Goodbye Tyler."

"Goodbye Dad."

They broke their hug, and in a second, Matthew finally drove off. Hank figured that it was his cue to come back.

"How did that go? Is he going to come back?"

"It went well. I have a feeling that I'll see him soon."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you later. Now, what do you say to bothering Jamie…"

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The End! Story #5 of the NOEbY series is coming up. I don't know the title yet. Thanks for reading. I had no idea that this story would take 18 chapters. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182 (Shameless Plug: Also read "Realization of Fate.")


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